


Some Wounds Not Even Time Can Heal

by SapphirePrince



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alpha Talia Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Attempted Murder (past reference), Crazy Peter Hale, F/M, Hales not from Beacon Hills, Large Hale Family, M/M, Reader Suggestion: "Severe Derek Bashing", Stiles Leaves Beacon Hills, alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-02-28 05:45:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13264956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphirePrince/pseuds/SapphirePrince
Summary: After being exiled from the Pack, armed only with Lydia, Stiles leaves Beacon Hills to build a new life in New York.  That is until he gets the call he has been dreading since he was a small child -- His father has been shot.  Now Stiles has to go back to his hometown and face the people he once called pack while trying to hold on to the relationship he built during his new life.





	1. The Call

**Author's Note:**

> So, be nice, this is the first thing I've written that isn't a term paper. I'm not sure exactly what will happen yet, but I do have an idea of where I want this story to end. I will update characters, relationships, etc. as I go along. 
> 
> I'm hoping you'll let me know what you think so I can make any adjustments that may be needed. I have a general idea of where I want this story to end, but 
> 
> Cheers!

**10 Years Ago -- Beacon Hills, CA**

"That's it, Stiles, you're out of the pack. You are no longer welcome in this house." Just like that, years of friendship, of experiences over. Stiles just stood there in shock as one-by-one he watched his friends turn their backs on him. Erica, Isaac, Malia, Liam, and Scott, until only Derek was facing him. "Why are you doing this? After everything I've done to keep you alive, the things I've done to help this pack, how can you? If it weren't for me, you would have drowned years ago Derek!" Stiles stares at Derek, waiting for some kind of answer, his vision blurred by the tears that are now streaming down his face. 

Derek looks at Stiles, no, not at, through Stiles. "This is my decision, this is no longer your pack. You're a human Stiles, this shouldn't be a surprise for you. How many times have we had to save you? How much time have you spent in the hospital because you're just a fragile human? This is a _wolf_ pack Stiles, for werewolves and our supernatural allies." Just like that Derek turns his back on Stiles and watches as the rest of the pack file out of the room, until it is just the two of them. He starts out, pausing by the door, half turning to Stiles, to say "I expect to be gone by morning." Just like that Stiles' life, and his love walked out the door. It was around 3:00 am when Stiles recovered enough from the panic attack to get in his jeep and drive home.

**Present Day -- New York City, NY**

"Yeah....Ok, I'll be on the next flight I can book a seat on. Thanks for calling Melissa." Stiles hung up the call and looked out the window into the winter night, and pressed his head against the window. Stiles walks over to the kitchen table where he left his laptop, buried in a pile of essays that he had been grading when he received the call he had been dreading ever since he was a child. His father had been shot during a routine traffic stop and was in emergency surgery at Beacon Hills Memorial. 

So many emotions come swirling through his mind, all triggered by one phone call. Not so much that his father was in critical condition, having surgery to remove a bullet from his chest, but that he was going to have to go back to that god-forsaken town he grew up in. He had been so happy with his life in New York, things were looking up for him and his boyfriend. No, fiancé, Jordan. Stiles was still getting used to the idea that, just a few hours ago, Jordan proposed to him in central park, not far from the hot dog they first saw each other at, four years ago. 

Their relationship had progressed slower than would have liked, but Stiles had a dissertation to finish, and Jordan always seemed to be working weekends at the zoo. It worked for them though, it gave them the time to understand what life with each other would look like. Stiles the obscure academic and Jordan the, in-demand herpetologist at the Central Park and Bronx zoos. Stiles was disturbed at first when he would come home and find poison dart frogs in the living room, but Jordan assured him that they were safe to handle as they did not feed them the toxic insects they usually would eat when in the wild. They had their ups and downs, but what relationship didn't? They worked them out like adults. Usually, Stiles had been know to end up at Lydia's apartment, drunk and crying his eyes out after a particularly bad fight or an agonizing three-day breakup. 

Jordan came out of their bedroom, hair tousled from tossing and turning in bed from Stiles not being there. "I thought you said you were coming to bed after you finished grading one more essay." He shuffled over intending to give Stiles a kiss on the head and refill his water bottle until he noticed that Stiles had been crying. It wasn't the red, puffy eyes that gave it away, as his vision was still a bit blurry from waking up in the middle of the night, but he saw the tear marks smudging the ink on the paper in front of his fiancé. "The papers can't be that bad, whats wrong?" Stiles looked up at Jordan, and sighed, finding it difficult to give life to what happened, by actually saying the words himself. "I got a call from Beacon Hills Memorial, my father was shot in the chest during a traffic stop tonight. He is in critical condition, and they rushed him into surgery. I need to go out to be there for him when he wakes up." 

Jordan sits down next to Stiles and embraces him, taking him in close to offer any support he can. "Is there anything I can do for you, do you want me to go with you to deal with those Judases?" Stiles had told Jordan about what brought him to New York, but he may have left a few details out, like the part that "those Judases" were werewolves. He didn't want to sound like a crazy person after all. Stiles looked up at Jordan and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I already booked two tickets for a flight in the morning. The flight is at 10:00 am, so we should probably get some sleep before waking up and packing for this nightmare." 

Jordan closes Stiles laptop as he stands up to walk an exhausted Stiles to bed. "Let's go to bed, its midnight, you can grade those papers later, besides tomorrow is going to be a long day, you're going to need all the rest you can get." With that, Stiles stands up and lets his fiancé lead him to their room, for a sleepless night dreading the strained interaction that will occur once his father wakes up, not to mention the inevitable reunion with his former friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jordan make their way to Beacon Hills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a transition chapter, getting from NY to CA.

The next morning was a blur of coffee and packing for the sleep-deprived couple, Stiles was running around trying to pack for an undefined amount of time or even if his father would survive surgery, as he had not heard anything from the hospital yet, just made things worse for him. Should he bring his black suit, or leave it? If he brought the suit, he would need to check a bag, if he had to check a bag and going through baggage claim was never quick. The stress and emotion of everything finally caught up with him when he was alone with his thoughts in the shower that morning, and it was on the floor of the shower, that Jordan found Stiles curled up crying. 

Taking a moment to decide how best to comfort his fiancé, Jordan finally decided it would be best just to sit next to Stiles in the shower. It wasn't until he was already sitting next to Stiles under the running water that he realized there was another person in the shower with him. Leaning into Jordan's muscular body, Stiles took comfort in his presence and was able to collect himself. Jordan always seemed to know when Stiles just needed him to be there to lean on and just be there. Sometimes words were just words, and while Jordan usually knew what to say, he also knew when he didn't need to say anything. Just being there was all the comfort that was sometimes required.

It was a few minutes before Stiles realized that Jordan didn't undress before getting in the shower with him and it was a now soaked t-shirt that he was snuggling up to. "They do have laundry service at the hotel you know." The joke providing a sign to Jordan that Stiles was still there and hadn't completely transformed into a ball of emotions. "I just thought I would kill two birds with one stone since you had been in here for so long, and I still needed to shower anyhow." Stiles placed a kiss on Jordan's cheek and got up and moved to get out of the shower. "I really should get dressed if we're going to make our flight, and you might as well start the spin cycle if you're going to finish that load of laundry in time." 

Jordan smiled and responded with a small laugh, as Stiles got out and began to dry himself off, enjoying the view of Stiles' perfect ass, something that he had noticed the second time he had seen the man in Central Park, the first being his smile. That goofy grin that always made Stiles look like he was a small child on Christmas morning seeing the treasure trove of gifts from Santa. As Stiles left the bathroom to go get dressed, Jordan decided that he probably should have at least taken his jeans off before getting under the water with Stiles, as they were going to be a pain to take off now. Thankfully he wasn't one of those men who didn't think he only needed two pairs and he wouldn't need to pack a wet pair of pants for their trip.

~~~~

Stiles was startled awake by the jolt from landing at Oakland International Airport. Jordan couldn't blame Stiles for sleeping most of the way from New York, but not being one who was able to sleep on a plane, he was also a little envious. Thankfully they were able to upgrade their seats to first class, so they weren't cramped in the back in coach, Jordan hated flying, not that he was scared of flying or claustrophobic, he just hated the experience. Being crammed in a metal box with 300 of his new closest friends and their screaming hellspawn. Thankfully Beacon Hills wasn't close to Disneyland, so there weren't many antsy children demanding to know "how much longer" and kicking the back of his seat. 

Jordan looked over to his bleary-eyed Stiles who was staring out the window. "You ok?" He asked reaching over and giving his arm a light squeeze. With a slight smile, Stiles responded after thinking for a moment "I think I will be. I want to thank you again for not even thinking twice about coming out with me." The downside to being seated at the front of the aircraft has to be the extended wait at baggage claim, but then they could have been stuck in the back of the 777 in their seats. Jordan decided that standing after the six-and-a-half-hour flight was worth it. Especially since they had at least another 90-minute drive to the Hotel in Beacon Hills. With bags collected, the two men began their trek to the shuttle pick up when they spotted a man, dressed in a nice suit, holding a sign that just said "Parrish / Stilinski" on it. The two men look at each other, equally as confused as the other, as they approached the man waiting for them. 

"Hello Mr. Parrish, Mr. Stilinski. My name is Jacob, and I'll be your driver to the Beacon Hills Hilton today." Sensing their confusion Jacob cleared everything up by letting them know that "I was hired by Ms. Martin to drive you into town, as you would not have rented a car since and would be using your father's or getting around by Uber once in town." It figures, Lydia would call ahead and order them a car, the question is when did Jordan find time to call to tell her what happened, because Stiles hadn't even had the time to think clearly enough to call her with the news. "When you were in the shower, I hung up with her just before I came in to check on you this morning" Jordan answered, seemingly able to read Stiles' mind. 

In true Lydia fashion, she had ordered a luxury SUV to take the men into town, and a good thing she did, as the traffic was worse than they could have expected for the time of day, it took them almost three hours to drive the roughly 80 miles into Beacon Hills. Styles took the time in the car to check the three voice messages and numerous texts he had received while in the air. Jordan took this opportunity to take a nap, he may not be able to sleep on a plane, but put him in the back of a car and he will be out in no time at all.

The first message was from Lydia: "Styles, Jordan told me what happened with your father, I'm so sorry to hear about this. I'm sorry I can't be there with you when you get into town, but I've canceled most of my appointments for the rest of the week and will be taking a flight out Friday. I know Jordan will be there for you and I trust him to keep those assholes from causing too much trouble if the even bother to show themselves." 

This is one of the many reasons he loved Lydia, not in the same way he worshiped her in High School, his sexuality was cemented the night he kept Derek from drowning in the pool during the kanima incident. His chiseled body and woodsy sent confirmed for Stiles what he had been thinking for a while -- that he was gay. It wasn't until Jackson came out after his summer in London that Lydia really started to bond with Stiles, seeing him more as a friend than the annoying kid who she had grown up around. It also gave her a new project, she took it upon herself to improve Stiles since of fashion if he was going to be gay. She wasn't going to complain about him wearing old jeans and flannel when running through the woods, but he was going to need to know how to dress once they all left Beacon Hills for college. Little did either of them know just how far they would be going to school.

The second message was from Melissa, Scott's mother. The only person in Beacon Hills other than Lydia that seemed to take Stiles' side in "The Great Betrayal" as he had referred to it as, well, out of those who knew about the supernatural that is. "Hi, Stiles, Melissa here. I just got home from the hospital, but I had your father transferred to my unit for monitoring. His surgery took longer than expected due to the bullet breaking a rib when it hit him. The surgeon was initially concerned about bone fragments near his heart, but thankfully it was a clean break, and no severe damage was done. You're probably on your flight now, so I'll talk to you when you get to town. I'm working a double tonight, so I should be at the hospital when you get in."

Finally, some news good news, if there could be any in this situation. It sounded like the sheriff was going to be ok, but would just need time to recover. That took a massive weight off of Stiles' shoulders and knowing that Melissa would be his nurse, even if that wasn't technically allowed since they had been dating for a few years now. 

The third message was just from his department chair, telling him he could take as much time as he needed and that Stiles could take the spring semester to work on his research and he could make it up by teaching summer session. Yet another concern alleviated, especially since Stiles was up for tenure review since Professor Gibbs was going to be retiring after next year. Professor Gibbs had been teaching Mythology at Columbia since the creation of time itself and was finally deciding to retire. Stiles, being a lecturer was surprised when he was told that he was being considered for tenure to replace Gibbs when he retired. His dissertation on "The History of Werewolves and Other Creatures That go Bump in the Night" was regarded as one of the most comprehensive and insightful texts on the fascination humans have with the supernatural was why, he was told, he was being considered so soon for the position. Considering how much first-hand experience he had with the topic, its no surprise to him at least, how well it was received.

His text messages were a collection of sympathy notes from colleagues his father's, and Lydia, telling him about the driver she hired. There was one message that just read "I'm sorry" from a "925" number. Stiles wasn't sure who it was, but there were only six people who would have his number and that area code, and he wasn't interested in speaking to any of them. Stiles sat in silence in the back of the SUV while Jordan slept, while they continued on their way to the hotel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jordan and Stiles make it to Ca and visit the Sheriff in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, glad to see so many of you are enjoying my first attempt at writing a story. I appreciate any comments you may have about how things are going and apologize for the slow start. Things should start picking up in chapter 4, which may not be up for about a week as I do have a few obligations to attend to, but I will still try to work on it at night in my free time, and get it up ASAP.

It was 10:00 pm by the time Stiles and Jordan made it to their hotel thanks to a combination of construction and an accident on the freeway. Jacob, their driver, offered to wait for them to check-in and take them to the hospital. An offer the weary travel men gladly accepted. By the time they arrived at Beacon Hills Memorial, it was 11:00 pm, almost a full 24 hours after Stiles had received the call that his father was having surgery to remove a bullet from his chest. It was a reasonably quiet evening in the intensive care unit when Stiles and Jordan walked up to the nurse's station to find Melissa waiting for them with a warm smile on her face. "Stiles, it's so good to see you, I've missed you. I just wish you were here for a better reason." Reciprocating her greeting, he walks around the island that makes up the nurse's station and gives his de-facto step-mother a big hug. "That makes two of us Melissa. How is he doing?" 

Melissa has never been one to lie to her patients or their family, but this was harder for her. Not because it was the boy she watched grow up, or his father, who she happened to be dating, but she hesitated before she could answer. "He's doing about as well as can be expected after surgery. The bullet did puncture his lung, but only slightly so he will have to stay here for a few days just to make sure that is healing. The surgeon is also recommending he go on a no salt, heart-healthy diet due to his age, and he has a slightly enlarged heart which could lead to an increased risk of heart attack." Stiles dropped, in slow-motion into a chair behind the nurse's station and just looked defeated. "Increased risk of heart attack," and "heart-healthy" were two things he was not expecting to hear, and knowing his father, getting him to cut out the salty snacks and In-N-Out burgers was going to be an uphill battle. 

It wasn't until Jordan walked up to comfort Stiles that Melissa fully realized that there was someone else with them, which was not neglect on Melissa's part, but Jordan allowing the reunion, and Stiles to focus on getting the information he needed. "Stiles, who is this with you? Is this Jordan?" Melissa asks giving the boyishly handsome herpetologist a once over. "I'm sorry, yes this is Jordan, Melissa." Jordan reaches out to shake her hand as the lights catch the ring on his left hand as he shifts the coffee he is holding. "Wait a second, is, is that what I think it is? Stiles, show me your hand." With a sheepish grin, he lifts his left hand to show his step-mother a matching ring. "STILES, why didn't you say anything sooner, you know you can always call me!" With all the excitement and introductions cut short, Melissa remembers that she cut Jordan off mid-greeting. "I'm so happy for you two" she mumbles into Jordan's shoulder as she pulls him into a hug, startling him just a little, not expecting this kind of reaction from anyone in California, even if Melissa has always been there for Stiles when he needed her.

Melissa turned back to Stiles, releasing Jordan from her "mamma bear" hug of joy, demanding to know what happened that she didn't even merit a text message about her second son's engagement. "We haven't told anyone yet, Jordan just asked me last night, not too long before I got the call about dad." Melissa caught the hint of sadness in Siles' voice that he had his special evening taken away from him, not that she blames him for that feeling at all. She remembered what it was like to get engaged and she wished things could have been different for Stiles and Jordan, but here they were, almost 3,000 miles from their home in a city that practically threw Stiles away. "You boys should go and get some sleep; it has been a long day for both of you, and your father is asleep. Come back in the morning; I'm here until 6:00 am, I'll call you if anything changes." Too tired to argue, Stiles agrees with Melissa, but not before sticking his head in the door to his dad's room, satisfied that he looked ok, for someone that just had surgery to remove a bullet from his lungs.

~~~~

The next morning Stiles woke up next to Jordan in their hotel room, not initially remembering the events of the previous day. He knew he was engaged to a fantastic man who he loved and things were looking up for him at work. His life, overall, was a solid ten, that is, until he opened his eyes and reality came crashing down on him. He was in the Beacon Hills Hilton, and his father was in the hospital, that ten came crashing down to a four because he at least had Jordan. Stiles rolled over to find an empty bed though; he sat upright in the massive bed, panicking that he didn't even have Jordan. That is until he walked into the room walked into the room, conveniently followed by an attendant pushing a room service cart. The panic Stiles was feeling instantly left, seeing the look of relief on his face Jordan took the cart from the attendant, gave the man a tip and, brought the food into the room. "I thought you could use some coffee and breakfast before we back to see your dad today." Stiles got up and kissed his fiancee, and thanked him again for coming with him, telling him how much he meant to him, especially at that moment. 

Stiles insisted on stopping at a local coffee shop on the way to the hospital, and after listening to him extoll the virtues of the lattes this place has, Jordan yielded to Stiles' request and stopped at Klepper Coffee about a block away from Beacon Hills Memorial. As they sat at a corner table, Jordan could see that something Stiles was somewhere else, remembering something. "Is everything ok Stiles?" Shaking his head, he comes back to the coffee shop from the memory he was lost in. "Yeah, it was here, at that table over there that Lydia and I made plans to leave Beacon Hills forever. It was three days after Derek dumped me, and most of my friends chose him over me. Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. If Lydia and I hadn't moved, I wouldn't have met you." Stiles leaned over his latte to give Jordan a deep kiss, which he reciprocates. "I'm not sure what made me think of that just now. I've spent so much time running from the ghosts of this city, that I forgot the few good times that brought me to New York." Maybe it was the cold breeze from someone leaving the door open too long or the smell of cedar that seemed to be coming from someplace, but Stiles held onto that memory that changed his life and used that happiness to brace himself for the days to come. "Come on," Jordan says, "let's finish our coffee and get going to see your dad." 

~~~

When they finally made it to the hospital, it was Noon, and they could hear the Sherrif trying to bargain with his nurse to bring him a bacon cheeseburger and fries, rather than the bland, flavorless slop and Jell-O placed in front of him. Stiles waited for the nurse to ignore the request before knocking on the open door to his father's room. "He's not giving you too much trouble is he?" Stiles asked the nurse who laughed and let Stiles know that Melissa had warned them about him in advance. "Stiles! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work so you can get that tenured spot that is opening up?" Not exactly the greeting he expected, but it also wasn't unexpected. The sheriff had always downplayed any injuries he got, on or off the job, insisting it was never more than just a scratch, something he could walk off in a day or two. "You got shot dad, of course, I was going to come out, this isn't a papercut you got at your desk, and I've been given a semester off to work on research by the department, so you're stuck with us until we go back." Having raised Stiles, the sheriff knew when to conceded defeat and accept that his son did care about him, even if he pretended that he was abandoned when Stiles stayed in New York after he finished his Ph.D. "We? You drug poor Jordan out here with you? What about the monkies, what will they do without him?" Stiles could only shake his head and laugh at his father; the man found too much enjoyment teasing Jordan about working with "the monkies" when he knew full well that he was a reptile and amphibian specialist. As much as he enjoyed teasing the man about his work, he always found some small way of letting him know he knew what he did. Be it a frog birthday card, or ornament for the Christmas tree, Noah Stilinski didn't miss an opportunity to show that he cared about the man who loved his son. "Jordan insisted on coming out dad. I've not been back here since I left for college, and you know that the bad memories out weight the good ones I have of Beacon Hills." The sheriff could only nod in agreement, not wanting to admit that his son was right, he had to. He lost his mother at a young age, friends brutally murdered in front of his eyes, being possessed by a dark spirit and locked away in a mental institution. Not to mention being abandoned by all of his friends, just for being a human. The sheriff had known about the supernatural side of Beacon Hills before Stiles had graduated high school. Stiles convinced Derek and his mother, Talia, on one of her visits to tell the sheriff. It was considered "need to know," and with all the strange things and animal attacks that had been on the rise, it had reached the point of "need to know." 

Jordan had decided to find a restroom and allow Stiles a few moments alone with his father before joining them, walked into the room the same time as Noah's doctor. "Hello, I'm Dr. Lott, who are your guests today sheriff, more of your friends from the station?" Chuckling, Noah introduces his son and his boyfriend to Dr. Lott, who fills them in on where the sheriff is, medically. "So, it as long as all your ex-rays show your lung is healing we can take the chest tubes out by tomorrow, we can talk about letting you go home by the end of the week. This is precisely the news everyone in the room wanted to hear that the sheriff was on the mend and doing well. Stiles started asking all the important questions about what sort of care his father would need once he gets discharged, and the specifics of the diet he should be on. "I can e-mail a list of things foods we suggest for patients with an increased risk of heart attack over to you, so you can do some shopping before we discharge your father." Pleased with the interaction, Stiles thanks, Dr. Lott and lets her continue her afternoon rounds to attend to other patients. 

With the doctor gone, Stiles takes the opportunity to spring some big news on his father as well, "Actually dad, Jordan isn't my boyfriend anymore, we're engaged!" Noah's look of shock turned instantly into joy for his sons, and he called them both over for as big of a hug as a man who had chest surgery could muster. "Now, Jordan, if you do anything to hurt my son, I'll feed you to those monkies you work with, do I make myself clear?" The threat made slightly impotent by the hospital ass-less hospital gown the sheriff was wearing, and the smile on his face. "Dad! What have I told you about threatening Jordan?" Stiles missing the wink his father gave Jordan looks exasperated when the two other men just burst out laughing. "It's going to be broccoli and tofu for the rest of your life now, old man," Stiles threatens. Changing the subject to keep Stiles from going crazy from his father's torment, Jordan begins looking at the cards attached to the flowers and other get-well gifts displayed around the room. Looking at the largest, and the most elegant bouquet of flowers he had ever seen in a hospital "I can guess which one Lydia sent," as the name on the card confirmed. There were a few other bouquets scattered around from, friends at the station, and a stuffed wolf in the corner with several names on the attached card. Picking up the stuffed animal to read the name on the collar, Jordan notices the wolf smells mildly of cedar. "Look, someone named the wolf after you sheriff." The only one to be smiling about that, Noah looks to his son out of the corner of his eyes. The three men sat and visited until 6:00 pm when Melissa came on shift. Confident that their father was in good hands, Stiles and Jordan said their goodbyes for the day and told the sheriff they would be moving back into Stiles' old room for the rest of their stay in Beacon Hills. On their way out, while Stiles was chatting with Melissa, Jordan noticed the smell of cedar again, but this time, he also caught a flash of what looked like a black leather jacket through the closing elevator doors. Figuring it must be a family member of someone else on the floor, Jordan didn't give it another thought, and made his way down to the lobby to call an uber to take them back to the Beacon Hills Hilton for their last night before moving into the house Stiles grew up in. To be honest, Jordan was a little excited to see where his fiancé had grown up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me.

The next day Jordan seemed to be more excited about moving into Stiles' old room that Stiles was. Granted, Stiles lived there for 18 years, while Jordan was getting a chance to see a piece of his fiancé's past. I could also have something to do with the call they received at 6:00 am jarring them awake. The call was from Jackson Whitmore, the sheriff's lawyer, and an unlikely ally to Stiles after the pack's "great betrayal." Jackson wasn't calling about anything legal related, but to see if there was anything he could do to help. This helpful Jackson was never something that Stiles was ever able to get used to being around. For too many years Jackson had been a first-class douche, and Stiles was his favorite target. That Stiles practically worshiped the ground that Jackson's girlfriend walked on, may have had something to do with that animosity. The two boys bonded after Jackson's trip to London, partly because Stiles was able to answer questions that Derek was inept at trying to explain. That and the two-week romance they had, may have helped some. 

The day wasn't going to be particularly exciting as the agenda consisted of coffee, cleaning, and grocery shopping for the sheriff's new heart-friendly diet. Stiles also decided that he should stop by the station to thank the deputies for the flowers and cards they sent. Stiles' plans changed somewhat when he found that his dad only had instant coffee in the house. "Jordan!" Stiles yelled from the kitchen, "we need to stop at the coffee shop before we go shopping, dad only has instant here." Jordan walks into the kitchen wearing Stiles' old lacrosse jersey, and shorts, which were too small for his muscular frame (not that Stiles was about to complain), he was also holding a stack of vintage comic books in protective wrappers. "I knew that you read comics, but didn't figure you were a collector, any other hobbies you want to tell me about, or are you going to let me dig around a little more?" Stiles could tell from the smile on Jordan's face which answer he would prefer. "As much as I hate to say this, but, how about we find something that fits you a little better if we're going to get actual coffee and go shopping." Disappointed with the answer Jordan fake pouts and shuffles over to Stiles setting the comics on the counter as he leans in, giving Stiles a deep, passionate kiss, completely removing any thoughts about coffee that may have been going through his mind. The too small shorts becoming that much more snug on Jordan's athletic body. Stiles lost in the kiss wrapped his arms around his fiancé allowing the distraction to envelop him. "You know, I think coffee can wait, but we should still shower" Stiles suggests with a devilish grin on his face, Jordan seemed to agree, as he picked Stiles up, and carried him to the bathroom.

~~~~  
_Two Sexy Hours Later_  
~~~~  
Grocery shopping for his dad was always one of Stiles' least favorite chores; Stiles never minded eating mostly vegetarian, but his father considered it just shy of poisoning. "Can we get something that isn't tofu for us to eat until your dad comes home at least Stiles?" Jordan can usually convince Stiles to get something other than chicken; there is only so much chicken that he can eat before he goes crazy. "Well if it isn't Stiles." A familiar, voice from the other end of the aisle calls. A cold shiver runs down Stiles' spine as he stops dead, he would recognize that crooning voice anywhere. It was a voice that haunted him for most of his sophomore year of high school. Jordan instantly went into defensive mode seeing how his fiancé reacted to hearing his name called. Turning around, Stiles was looking into a pair of blue eyes he had hoped he wouldn't have to during this trip. Peter Hale had found Stiles.

"Hello, Peter." Stiles attempted to sound civil but failed, despite the years of dealing with Peter, he had never been able to hide anything from the older man. "Come now Stiles; you can't be that angry with me, after all, you know I thought you were the best thing that happened to that idiot nephew of mine." Stiles couldn't argue with him, no matter how much he wanted to, Peter may be a manipulative sociopath, but he wasn't a liar. Taking his focus off Stiles for a moment and turning to face Jordan, Peter takes it upon himself to commence introductions. "Where are my manners, Peter Hale." Jordan, not sure how this interaction should be going, and not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the frozen food aisle, he accepted Peter's outstretched hand, "Jordan Parrish, pleased to meet you, Peter." The look Peter gave Jordan didn't feel like he was undressing him with his eyes, it went deeper than that, Peter was trying to analyze him. "Parrish, not from New York are you Jordan? I knew a Parrish that had simmilar...eyes to yours while I was out there for work several years ago." Jordan thought it was odd how the other man paused mid-sentence, but a glance at Stiles made him think that this was normal for him to do. "We're a little busy today Peter; we need to finish shopping and get the house ready for my dad to come home from the hospital, hopefully, tomorrow." Breaking the almost intrusive stare, he was giving Jordan; Peter looked back to Stiles with a look of sympathy. "Yes, we heard about the incident, which is what brings us to town. You must come to dinner tonight; I know Talia would insist if she were here." Taken aback slightly by the turn of events, Jordan thanked Peter for the kind offer to dinner and was about to accept, before Stiles attempted to decline by saying they had to pick Lydia up from the airport later that afternoon. "Not to worry Stiles, Miss Martin is welcome to join us as well. She was one of my favorites out of your little group of friends, and you do know that my sister enjoys nothing more than a house with a _pack_ of guests." Grinning that devious Peter grin, that made Stiles want to punch him, especially how he emphasized the word "pack." Stiles was not looking forward to tonight but had no way of getting out of it without being a complete asshole. "Be sure to thank Talia for us, Peter, what time should we come by?" Pleased with himself over his victory, Peter lets the men know to Talia's Beacon Hills cabin at 7:00 pm. It wasn't until they were loading the groceries into the back of Noah's car that Jordan realized Peter wasn't carrying any bags or pushing a cart when he walked out of the supermarket. 

"Hey, Lyds, so ran into Peter at the store today, and he invited you, Jordan, and myself to dinner tonight at Talia's. I was hoping to catch you, so you didn't hear this on a message, but we can talk more when we pick you up from the airport. See you soon." Stiles disconnected the call and looked over to Jordan, who he had become incredibly thankful for over the past few days. Flying to California with next to no notice, supporting him while his dad's condition was undetermined, and now, being supportive about dinner with a house full of people he didn't know. "So, is Peter the asshole's uncle, and if so, will the asshole be there tonight?" Reasonable questions Jordan thought considering the strange interaction they had at the market. "Yes, Peter is Derek's uncle, and I can only hope he won't be there. I can't imagine why he would be. Peter may be a sociopath, but he's not sadistic, not to mention Talia, Derek's mother, wouldn't intentionally do something to create a situation that could blow up like that, so it is probably safe to say he won't be there." That is something that made Jordan feel better about the evening, even if he still felt awkward about having dinner with the family of his ffiancé's ex. He just hoped he would have time alone with Lydia before they had to go over to get some answers from a perspective other than Stiles on these people. 

~~~~  
Lydia chartered a flight into Beacon County airport rather than fly into Oakland, which made picking her up, that much easier, and as usual, she wasted no time getting down to business. "You honestly agreed to have dinner with Peter tonight, and, you got me invited as well?" Stiles knew that look all too well; he had been on the receiving end of Lydia's annoyance plenty of times over the years, although, usually not for making dinner plans. "You know how it is talking to him; it was easier just to agree." Knowing that wasn't going to be sufficient to get him out of trouble, he moved on to his next card to at least come out of this encounter unscathed. "We already picked up some wine and ordered flowers to bring for a hostess gift. I even asked your mother for suggestions on which florist to use, since I didn't know who was still around." Satisfied with Stiles' answer, Lydia moved on to the second item on her agenda. The welcome home party for the sheriff. "I've planned a little welcome home party for your dad this weekend Stiles; I'll need you and Jordan to keep him out of the house Saturday while supervising the setup. I've already sent out the invites and have 20 RSVPs." Jordan had never managed to get used to how quickly Lydia can not only organize an event but how fast people responded to her. He usually had to hound people to get an answer for things. "I think it will be good for you four to spend some time together out here since you make your dad and Melissa come to New York to see you, Stiles, it will give them a chance to get to know Jordan better." A day alone with Melissa, and his dad, the one thing Stiles was dreading most. Not because he thought they wouldn't get along with Jordan, but there would be that many more opportunities for Jordan to pry embarrassing stories about his childhood out of them. The last thing he needed Jordan to find out was about the time Stiles decided he wanted to be a cop when he grew up and ended up handcuffing his father to his desk at work over lunch. In his defense, he was five at the time. 

Time seemed to fly that afternoon, and before they knew it, it was 7:00 p.m., and thanks to Lydia, they were at Talia's door, precisely on time. Talia opened the door to greet them, slightly taken back by the third member of the party, the one Peter neglected to mention to her, but true to her nature, she did not let it show. "Welcome, come it, its so good two see you two again. We were all concerned when we heard about your father, Stiles. We came up as soon as we could to see if we could be of any help." Stiles remembered why he always liked Talia, she was like a second mother, not just to Stiles, but the teens of Beacon Hills who befriended the Hale children. "Thank you, Talia, so far I think we have things managed, but I will let you know if there is anything. Also, I'd like to introduce my fiancé, Jordan Parrish." That did surprise Talia, she knew it had been ten years, but she still held out some hope that Stiles and Derek would reconcile, but what mother wouldn't want to see her son with a successful university professor. "Its a pleasure Jordan, please follow me and I can introduce the rest of my family." Talia led the trio into the main living room where Peter, Cora, Laura, and David were sitting. "These are my daughter's Laura, and Cora, my husband David, and you already met my brother Peter today." They all exchanged greetings with Jordan, Lydia, and Stiles and sat around catching up on what they had been doing for the last ten years. It turns out that David had expanded his law practice to have offices in Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as his local office in Beacon Hills he did mostly pro-bono cases out of. Talia decided that it would be just the immediate Hale family, sans-Derek, tonight as they did not want to overwhelm Stiles with the multitude of grandchildren they had thanks to both girls being prone to giving birth to twins.

It was surreal for Stiles, having dinner at Talia's cabin, surrounded by the people he once thought would be his in-laws, as awkward, and painful as it may have felt, it was also nice. Stiles never held any hatred for anyone at the table tonight, except for Peter, but that was because he tried to kill him. Talia had made a fantastic crown rack of lamb with all the sides you could ever want. "So, Stiles, you teach at Columbia, what was your dissertation on?" An innocent question from Talia, but with Peter at the table, Stiles could only hope he would be uncharacteristically quiet. "It was titled 'The History of Werewolves and Other Creatures That go Bump in the Night,' and I'm actually up for tenure review to teach Mythology." That certainly caught the attention of everyone at the table. "I guess all those horrible movies you made me sit through paid off, never thought anyone would give out a Ph.D. for monsters." That was well behaved for Peter; Stiles was impressed. "I'm just lucky I found an advisor that found my proposal interesting enough to give me a chance, and now it may lead to me being a tenured professor." The pride was rolling off both Stiles and Jordan, even more off Jordan. Every Hale at the table could almost taste the emotion coming off of Jordan; it was a powerful love, one that wasn't likely to fade. The evening wrapped up with coffee and Talia's Strawberry and Rose Mess. When the time came, everyone made their way to the door and said their goodbyes. Talia once again let Stiles know that she was only a phone call away if he or the sheriff needed anything and not to allow any old feelings he may have keep him from reaching out. "Lydia, David and I be sure to come by tomorrow for Noah's homecoming, thank you for the invitation." Smiling, Lydia thanked Talia for the RSVP and exchanged a kiss on each cheek.

The drive back to Noah's house was relatively quiet, partly due to the late hour, but Stiles was thankful for the silence, he needed time to process his emotions from the evening. He missed the Hales, the big family dinners, having that kind of interaction. The Parrish family wasn't very big on the whole acting like a family, they did the required holidays, but they didn't all gather if they didn't have to. Stiles looked over to see Jordan's head propped on the passenger window, a tiny strand of drool running down his adorable chin. Stiles knew what he wanted, but wasn't sure exactly how to tell Jordan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek POV

Saturday morning was usually packed with activity at the Hale cabin when the family was in Beacon Hills, the kids watching cartoons, Talia and David in the kitchen making breakfast for their grandchildren, Laura and Cora sleeping in while their husbands played with the kids who wanted to be outside rather than in front of the TV. Saturday morning was the big event for the Hales rather than Sunday dinner as the family was usually on the road heading back to their respective houses, so when Derek showed up around 9:00 am to a quiet house, he was understandably confused. "Mom, dad, anyone home?" He called from the main entry not hearing any activity in the kitchen. Talia appeared at the top of the stairs to greet her son. "Derek, sweety, I'm so sorry, I got distracted and forgot to call you last night, we aren't having Saturday breakfast today. We have coffee ready, and we were about to fix something for ourselves if you want to join us still." Always glad to spend time with his family, Derek gladly accepts the offer and follows his mother into the kitchen, but it was as they passed the dining room table that he stopped dead in his tracks. It had been ten years since he that scent had been in this house, but the last time it was laced with sadness and grief. It was when Stiles came to say goodbye to Talia. As if he had been waiting for this moment, Peter walked into the dining room from the kitchen, holding a Batman coffee mug, the same one that had been collecting dust in the darkest corner of the cabinet for years. "Really Peter, you just had to dig that out today didn't you?" Talia just looked exasperated at her brother, knowing whatever was going on in his head would probably make her want to strangle him. "I thought it was time for a change, sister, and after we had such a pleasant evening with Stiles and his fiancé, I thought this was an appropriate choice."

Derek's world started spinning, that was the other he smelled, It was different from what he ever detected from Stiles when they were dating, even on their most romantic evenings, Stiles never smelled like that with him. It was more, not just love; it was closer to the bond that his parents had, how his sisters were with their husbands, and not like he and Stiles ever were. "Peter, that's enough, don't you have children of your own to emotionally scar?" David said, coming in and seeing the smug look on his brother-in-law's face and the mix of emotions on his son's face. Disappointed in having his fun cut short, Peter continued to the living room where he left his tablet the previous night. David followed Peter to make sure he behaved himself for the time being and giving Talia a chance to talk wolf to wolf with Derek. "We'll talk in the kitchen, Derek." She continued, allowing her son to follow when he was ready.

Talia, preferring tea to coffee, had started the kettle for herself and had Derek's coffee mug on the breakfast bar waiting for him when he arrived. "You know that we came by to see the sheriff due to his injury, and it was inevitable that Stiles would be coming out as well Derek. I didn't plan to have him over for dinner last night, but your uncle ran into him at the market yesterday and invited him, Lydia and yes, his fiancé to dinner. I won't lie to you; it was nice seeing them again." Fixing her tea, Talia watched her son as if he was just a shadow of Derek; she hadn't seen him this disconnected since he told her that he left Stiles. Derek had dated during the last ten years, but nothing that ever lasted for more than a year or two, he chose to bury himself in his work as a defense. "To be honest, Derek, I wasn't expecting such a severe reaction from you today. It's been ten years, and you claim to have moved on, but as a mother, I should have known better." Coming out of the mental void he slipped into, Derek got up and hugged his mother. "It surprised me is all, and I'm still recovering from Sean moving to Seattle to take that job at Microsoft. It was just bad timing." Talia knew when Derek was trying to rationalize his emotions, even when he didn't. "When were you going to stop by the hospital to see the sheriff, I'd like to come along, he was asleep when I went by last." This was when it started to get difficult for Talia. "Well, we're not going to the hospital, Lydia is hosting a welcome home party for him this afternoon." Derek caught the unspoken words "We -- not you -- are going to a welcome home party." The lack of an invitation, while unsurprising, still hurt, Derek knew that Lydia Martin, never accidentally forgot to invite someone, and she made sure by sending physical and electronic invitations out, just in case one delivery method failed. Shaking himself into a functioning state, Derek thanked his mother for the coffee and excused himself as he claimed he had some work to catch up on for a new client he was hoping to secure for his landscaping and design firm.

Derek's office was in the heart of downtown Beacon Hills; Hale Architecture & External Design took up both floors of the two-story office building. The ground floor consisted of a lobby and reception area, with the rest of the level occupied by themed conference rooms, based on the different styles they specialized in. This was one of Cora's better ideas if Derek had to admit it. The second floor was office and design space for the three Hale children and their staff and interns. Derek had been using his work as a convenient excuse to avoid social situations a lot lately, much like he did when he kicked Stiles out of the pack, and today was no exception to that. Derek had seen Stiles around town all week but had done his best to convince himself that it wasn't him, never staying long enough to confirm what his senses were telling him. Derek went for the bottle he kept behind the scotch in his office for VIP clients. This was Peter's unique brew, for the times that even a werewolf wanted to go numb and forget.

~~~~  
_Ten Years Ago_  
~~~~

It was another stormy night in Beacon Hills, something that had been occurring more often than average, but that was due to the storm archomental that had decided it wanted to make Beacon Hills its new domain and didn't care about the humans that had "infested" the area. Naturally, it was Stiles that came up with a plan that allowed the pack to defeat it after they had tried brute force, which just ended up in wet and electrocuted. The victory didn't come without cost; Stiles had taken a powerful hit of lightning to the chest as the archomental, landing for his third stay at Beacon Hills Memorial this year. Derek wasn't sure what he was going to do if Stiles didn't survive this, the only thing he knew for sure was that if Stiles did die, the sheriff _would_ kill him. Slowly, and painfully, and Derek would let him. That was also the first night Peter gave Derek a bottle of his special brew, the first time Derek got blue-blind-paralytic-drunk, it was also the night that Derek decided that he had to get Stiles out of Beacon Hills, he had to get him away from the supernatural.

The next morning, a profoundly hungover Derek made his way to the hospital to see how Stiles was doing; they were due to celebrate their 2nd anniversary later that week, but that wasn't going to happen now. When Derek arrived the rest of the pack was already in the waiting area, as the doctor was making his morning rounds only the sheriff and Melissa, by virtue of her job, were allowed in the room for the moment. Derek took the time to tell the others his plan, and to get their feedback, as he wanted to make sure it wasn't just the alcohol making the decision. Liam and Malia were instantly in support, Erica and Isaac took a little persuasion, but Scott, he was against the idea from the moment the words left Derek's mouth, but in the end, this decision was Derek's. He was the pack alpha; this was a time that being a true alpha, or second-in-command didn't matter, Scott knew that if he stayed Stiles would probably be dead before his 21st birthday, so he listened, and agreed. It was decided, that the first pack meeting after Stiles fully recovered, he would become excommunicado. This was one of the oldest and least used werewolf ceremonies, and for a good reason. Declaring a pack member excommunicado severed the bond between the target and the remaining members of the pack, it was like ripping a part of the soul out of the pack, it would be felt by everyone, but most keenly by the target. It was two months before Stiles was well enough before Derek called the pack together to pass his judgment. They were the most difficult weeks Derek had endured, knowing that as Stiles recovered, he had made the right decision, it had to be done, or Stiles would end up dead long before his time. It was cruel to continue as if the decision hadn't been made, to let Stiles believe nothing had changed when everything was about to.

Derek didn't reach out to his family for help prepare the ritual because he knew his mother would try to dissuade him. He instead reached out to the alpha of the Portland pack, who had been a close friend of his family for several years. The ritual was even more complicated than Derek had imagined, but once all setup, it was simple to execute. Derek began working with the members of his pack in secret so that when Stiles recovered, he would stand a chance of surviving this banishment.

When there was no active supernatural threat, pack meetings usually took place after a night out, dinner, a movie or some other group activity, so Stiles was a surprised to find out that it was just down to business, when no one had told him about anything going on. All the furniture in Derek's living room had been pushed to the walls with only seven candles on tall stands in a circle in the center, leaving ample space in the middle, this was the second red flag that made Stiles question what was going on. The final warning came as they were instructed to form a circle, and Stiles told to enter the center. Confused as to what was going on he did, once in the middle, Derek did what Stiles thought unthinkable. "Stiles Stilinski, as alpha of the Beacon Hills pack, I hereby declare you excommunicado. This decision has been made unanimously by the members of this pack that you are a liability to the pack. This year alone you have proven weak, fragile, you have cost us too much blood. For these reasons, I pass this judgment on you." Just like that Stiles watched his pack extinguish the candle in front of them. Liam, Malia, Erica, Isaac, Scott, and Derek. Derek walked to Stiles, standing by a candle of his own, with two fingers, he extinguished that candle as well.

"That's it, Stiles, you're out of the pack. You are no longer welcome in this house." Just like that, years of friendship, of experiences over. Stiles just stood there in shock as one-by-one he watched his friends turn their backs on him. Erica, Isaac, Malia, Liam, and Scott, until only Derek was facing him. "Why are you doing this? After everything I've done to keep you alive, the things I've done to help this pack, how can you? If it weren't for me, you would have drowned years ago Derek!" Stiles stares at Derek, waiting for some kind of answer, his vision blurred by the tears that are now streaming down his face.

Derek looks at Stiles, no, not at, through Stiles. "This is my decision, this is no longer your pack. You're a human Stiles, this shouldn't be a surprise for you. How many times have we had to save you? How much time have you spent in the hospital because you're just a fragile human? This is a wolf pack, Stiles, for werewolves and our supernatural allies." Just like that Derek turns his back on Stiles and watches as the rest of the pack file out of the room, until it is just the two of them. He starts out, pausing by the door, half turning to Stiles, to say "I expect to be gone by morning." Just like that Stiles' life, and his love walked out the door. It was around 3:00 am when Stiles recovered enough from the panic attack to get in his jeep and drive home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek comes over for Saturday breakfast but notices something that isn't usually there.

Stiles woke up to what sounded like a wrecking crew was in his dad's living room. To top off this Jordan wasn't in bed with him, so he was probably in the midst of whatever was happening downstairs. It was then he heard the orchestrator of this chaos calling for him. "Stiles Stiliniski, get your ass out of bed and get downstairs, I will not have you lounging in bed while we get this house set up for your father's coming home." Stiles made his way down and went directly to the kitchen, where he found his amazing, sexy, wonderful fienacé handing him a mug of freshly brewed coffee. "I could marry you here and now Jordan Parrish," Jordan responded with a smile and a mostly chaste kiss on the lips. "You better get in there and see what Countess Báthory wants you to do." Walking past the kitchen directing caterers and florists, taking just a fraction of a second to look at Jordan to say "I heard that." Lydia reminded both the men that she expected them to be useful and that the sheriff would need to be picked up by 3:00 p.m. Looking at each other, the men considered how long it would take Lydia to find them if the skipped the country.

It was 1:00 p.m. when the doorbell rang, not sure who it could be, as the next delivery wasn't due for at least 90 minutes. Lydia opened the door to see two brown eyes and a crooked jaw standing there. Thankfully Stiles was busy hiding from Lydia, so he didn't have to see the double-crossing bastard, Jordan, however, was there. He recognized Scott from Stiles' old yearbooks, seeing the man's face brought Jordan's protective nature to the surface, he followed Lydia outside and closed the door behind them. "What the hell do you think you are doing here McCall?" The hatred flowing through her directed Scott so powerfully, it may have been a physical force. "My mom said the sheriff was coming home today, I thought I'd see if he needed anything, I just wanted to help." Disgusted with his answer Lydia just scoffed, but Jordan felt the rage rising in him like a raging inferno. "Help? You want to help? Where was your concern when you abandoned Stiles ten years ago, huh? Where were you for the last ten years, that you couldn't once try to tell Stiles what was going through your mind when you decided he wasn't good enough anymore? Funny how all this 'care' seems to come out now when the most people would be here to see what a good guy you are." Scott was stunned by the fury coming from the man he had never met silenced him. "I think it would be best if you turned around and left, you're good at that. Because if I have to kick your skinny ass down the street, so Stiles doesn't see you today -- when he has enough going on -- I will." Scott took a few steps back, hurt by Jordan's words, his face a mix of emotions. "I didn't have a choice, it wasn't my idea..." The words coming from Scott's mouth sounding impotent and practiced, Jordan was close to a snapping point. Lydia could sense this, and took control of the situation before Jordan decided he was going to beat Scott into the ground, stepped forward. "He's right Scott, you need to leave, now. If Stiles wants to see you, that's his choice, but today is not the day for you to come crawling back like a worm." Defeat and regret on his face, Scott McCall, backed away, turning to go back to his car. Jordan staying on the porch watching as Scott drove away before he went back inside.

Lydia knew that Jordan wouldn't be useful until he had a chance to calm down, so she suggested he go for a run, not knowing if he packed a swimsuit, he agreed that some fresh air and a chance to just let his mind go blank would probably be best for everyone today. He went upstairs and found Stiles hiding in his room looking through boxes of his old comics. "I've been told that I'm not helpful and that I should go for a run to get out of the way." Stiles puts his comics down to give Jordan a hug and kiss "I'll be back in time to shower and go to the hospital with you to pick up your dad, I'm just going to go around the block a few times, nothing extreme." Stiles knew how running, even if it was in the confines of a gym, was Jordan's way to let things go. If he was stressed, he ran. If he needed to make a big decision about something, he ran. "Sounds good, I wouldn't want to be on Lydia's bad side before the 'little welcome home party' shes throwing today." Laughing with Stiles about the difference between what Lydia and they considered "a little party" and completely agreeing that he did not want to make her angry. There were certain parts of his anatomy he was somewhat attached to that he would prefer she not remove, and he was pretty sure Stiles would miss those parts too. While Jordan was changing into Stiles' too-small-for-him-lacrosse-uniform, Stiles asked what the commotion was downstairs, as he heard what sounded like yelling. Cursing himself for the outburst, Jordan decided it was best not to lie. "Scott McCall stopped by, he claimed he wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help your dad since he is getting out of the hospital today, Lydia and I told him to leave, we didn't think today was the time for him to try to talk to you." Looking to Stiles to see if he was upset at their decision, Jordan waited while the gears turned in his fiancé's head, Stiles responded how Jordan had hoped, by thanking him and saying that he was in no mood to see Scott, especially while he needed to focus on his father's recovery. With a kiss and a pat on Jordan's perfectly formed ass, Stiles sent him out on his run.

~~~~  
Scott drove around aimlessly for about an hour before he found himself near Derek's office. Seeing the lights on in Derek's office, Scott decided he would stop by, if there was anyone he could talk to about this, it would be him. Scott used the key Derek gave to each of the pack members to let himself into the building and made his way up to Derek's office. Arriving Scott found the alpha, not at work on a design, but crying and completely obliterated by a bottle of Peter's wolf-schnaps, a sight that pushed any thoughts of Stiles to the back of Scott's mind as whatever it was that drove Derek to get this drunk was a more immediate concern. "Derek, whats wrong, what happened? Is your family ok?" Scott went down a mental list of things that could trigger this sort of self-destructive behavior in the usually emotionless man. Derek was only able to look up at Scott for a moment before descending into another round of incomprehensible sobbing. All Scott could do was offer comfort to Derek until he was able to form a coherent sentence and tell him what was wrong. Scott moved the near-empty bottle away from Derek and pulled a chair over to sit next to and comfort his friend. Fortunately for Scott, he had supernatural strength, because it wasn't long before Derek transitioned from an emotional mess, to passed out drunk. Dragging Derek down to his car was something Scott had gotten tired of doing years ago, the only upside today is that he wasn't bleeding all over him while he did it. "Ok, Derek lets get you to your mom, because I'm not about to deal with you when you wake up with this hangover."

Pulling up the Hale driveway Scott was greeted by David who was working in the yard along with Laura's mate, Adam. The two men helped Scott drag a very drunk and unconscious Derek inside and deposit him in the downstairs guest room sleep off his stupidity. Neither man needed to have supernatural senses to smell the alcohol on Derek, so they didn't ask what happened, as David already knew and Laura had filled Adam in on the morning fun when the kids asked where uncle Derek was. "Talia should be in the living room watching a movie with the kids while they finish lunch if you want to head in, there should be a few sandwiches left Scott." Thanking David for the offer, he made his way in to find Talia, to see if there was anything he could do to help Derek, or if she could be a counselor for him. "Scott darling, how are you?" Talia greeted the younger alpha standing and giving him a hug and looking him over, knowing something was wrong, without having to smell Derek or Peter's wolf-schnapps lingering on his skin. "Well, I guess I don't have to wonder how much work Derek got done when he went into the office today. How about we go in the kitchen, and we talk some." Knowing the difference, between a question and a soft command, Scott followed the other Alpha and took a seat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. "So, how about you tell me whats wrong Scott, I've known you long enough to know that something is bothering you, and I guess that its the same thing that made my son try to drown himself in that awful home brew of Peter's." It all started to make sense to Scott now, and with Derek in the guest room, rather than over his shoulder, he could detect the scent that set his friend over the edge. Stiles, Lydia, and the stranger who threatened to pummel him had been here recently.

Talia saw the realization behind Scott's eyes as the pieces to this puzzle came into place. "Yes, Stiles was here with Lydia and his fiancé for dinner last night. Peter found them at the market and invited them over, and naturally, he also had to be very Peter about the whole thing, and throw it in Derek's face this morning when he came over for breakfast." Fiancé, that explained a lot about the interaction this afternoon, Stiles was engaged and based on what was said, Stiles told him some version of what happened. "So, why don't you tell me about what made you go looking for Derek for comfort Scott." It didn't take being Derek's mother to know that Derek didn't call Scott to comfort him, and Talia didn't intend to when her son woke up from the drinking he had done. "I went to the sheriff's house to see if I could help with anything, my mom said he was being discharged today. When I got there Lydia and some guy, probably Stiles' fiancé, told me to leave since that was what I was good at." Talia could sense the old emotional wounds opening on Scott's soul, she knew that he had been against Derek's idiot plan, but went along with it, because he would rather push his friend away than attend his funeral. She understood where they were coming from, Stiles never shied away from the fight, he was always right there in the eye of the storm with Derek's pack. She even offered him the bite at during one of his hospitalizations, only to learn that Peter had done the same thing, but for different reasons, and just as he did with Peter, Stiles declined, choosing to remain human.

"Scott, I know this hasn't been easy for you, losing your best friend, but you have to remember that what you felt was only a fraction of what Stiles went through that night." The hurt in Scott's eyes starting to drown as tears began to well up. "Your loss was shared with four betas, and his alpha, Derek, who at the time I was sure was his mate. Stiles had the pack, and possibly his mate bond ripped from his soul, it's a miracle he didn't lose his mind when you did that to him. There is a reason we only use that ceremony in the most serious of cases." Scott didn't fully understand the consequences of what would happen to Stiles when Derek told them what he planned then, but he understood now, tragically too late to stop Derek from jumping to the extreme resolution to saving Stiles' life. "I didn't want to see Stiles get hurt again any more than you did Scott, but whats done is done. Stiles has moved on, and found someone he loves, and who loves him." Scott wiped the tears from his eyes, knowing that Talia, as usual, was right. There was a reason other packs sought her out for advice, she could look at the whole picture and see both sides and help them come to a resolution. This was one of the reasons she was also the most respected judge in California. "Now, Scott, I'm going to need your help in keeping an eye on Derek for the next few days, the last thing Stiles needs is a drunk werewolf knocking on his front door at three-in-the-morning. While you're doing that, I'm going to be looking for my brother to make sure he doesn't give Derek anymore of that wolf-schnapps of his." Scott wasn't thrilled about puppy sitting Derek for a few days, but it was better than being Peter when Talia managed to track him down. 

~~~~  
Jordan found Beacon Hills to be a much nicer place to be for a winter run than Manhattan. Sure he had Central Park to run in back home, but even he needed to layer up in the winter, it didn't matter how much of a radiator he was when it was when the wind chill dropped temperatures into the negative teens Fahrenheit. He was on his second lap around the block when he noticed that someone was chasing after him, trying to waive him down. He stopped and pulled out his earphones to realize what the confusion was. "Stiles, what are you doing out here, shouldn't you be at the hospital picking up your dad?" It was then that the stranger realized this wasn't Stiles, it was just a gorgeous man wearing his lacrosse gear. "I'm sorry I stopped you, I saw someone running in Stiles' old jersey and assumed it was him." Smiling, Jordan introduced himself to the stranger and explained there wasn't a need to apologize, he probably would have made the same mistake too if he saw someone wearing an old friends jersey. "I'm Danny, by the way, it's nice to meet you Jordan." Giving the other man a good look. "Stiles certainly did well moving to New York, I'll let you finish your run. We can talk later. I'm guessing you'll be at the sheriff's this afternoon?" Danny said giving Jordan a wink, as he walked back to his house. Putting his headphones back in, Jordan continued his run for two more laps before heading back to shower so they could pick his future father-in-law up from the hospital.

Stiles was just getting dressed when Jordan walked into the room to start getting cleaned up. "Have a good run?" Stiles asked, giving the sweat-drenched man a quick kiss, before pushing him away. "It was nice not having to layer up for a change this time of year. An old friend of yours thought I was you, and chased me down while I was out, Danny, I think he said his name was, said he would be here this afternoon." That cheered Stiles up, he had always liked Danny, but then, everyone liked Danny, it was hard not to. Stiles just hoped he didn't tell Jordan the story about how Stiles lost his virginity, not that he regretted that night at all, but the way it happened was not exactly dignified. Stiles still wasn't sure if Danny slept with him because he believed Stiles about the virgin sacrifices, or if he had a thing for him at the time, either way, it cemented the friendship the two had. Danny had even come to stay with Stiles in New York one summer during their undergrad. Thinking back on it, Stiles would prefer Danny tell Jordan how he lost his virginity, rather than any story from that summer.

Stiles was thankful the hospital was so close to his dad's house as they were a little behind schedule since Jordan took a long shower when he got back from his run. When the boys walked into Noah's room, the doctor was just finishing up and let them know that everything looked good and a nurse would be in shortly with the discharge paperwork. "You excited to get out of here dad?" "That depends," the sheriff asked, "are there curly fries and a hamburger waiting for me at home?" He knew the answer, but he could still hope, maybe Jordan would smuggle him some In-N-Out, that would go a long way in his book in making him his favorite son, instead of Stiles. "No, dad. You know you're not allowed either of those things. We did go shopping and got you plenty of food to start your new diet off though." Precisely what he wanted to hear, Stiles had stocked the fridge and every cupboard with rabbit food. "Let's get your paperwork, and get you out of this place, sheriff. I think you'll like the surprise we have for you, even if it isn't a burger and fries." Noah was less skeptical if Jordan thought he would like it, he was a good kid, unlike that delinquent of his who replaced his ribeyes with portabello mushroom caps.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sheriff comes home from the hospital

It was decided not to have a house full of people yell "SUPRISE" at a man who just had a bullet removed from his chest, so Lydia had decorations and a large "Welcome Home Sheriff" banner on the front of the house. "Well, I think I figured out what your surprise is boys." Stiles and Jordan just smiled helped the sheriff out of the car and into the house. What he didn't expect was how many people would be waiting in the house. Most of the Hales (sans-Derek), Melissa, Allison and Chris Argent, Danny, Jackson, Alan, and what felt like half of Beacon County's law enforcement. "How did you boys pull this off, thank you!" Before either could answer, the answer presented herself coming down the stairs, Lydia Martin. "I should have known this was your work, Lydia," Noah said as he gave her big hug and thanked her for not only coming out but for organizing this party. Stiles convinced his dad to set up camp in a central location in the home so that he could rest when he needed but also didn't feel like he was confined to a chair now that he was home. The deputies and FBI agents who worked in Beacon County had worked out a rotation so that there was a full team on duty while as many people were able to attend the party at one time as possible. Noah loved catching up with friends he made over the years that he hadn't had a real chance to sit down with since he was elected sheriff. 

Jordan mostly stayed close to Stiles as he only knew a handful of people, and let Stiles make introductions. He knew the party was for his soon-to-be father-in-law, but it was a crash course in the Stilinski family friends for him. After about two hours had gone by, the sheriff called for everyone's attention. "I want to say how much it means to me to see all of you here today, that you took time out of your busy schedules to come by. Thank you all!" The guests applauded the sheriff, taking the pause in conversation to seize attention, Stiles stood on a chair and called for attention one more time. "I'd like to echo my father's sentiment and thank you all for coming here today. I would also like to invite you all to raise a glass and join me in a toast. Sheriff Noah Stilinski, dad. I know that I wasn't the easiest child to raise, and you may have wanted to drive me off the cliffs, especially after the time Jackson had a restraining order placed on me." Stiles paused for the crowd to laugh or shake their heads, while Jackson just flipped Stiles off and blew him a kiss. "Despite all my, adventures you were always there for me. You have been a fixture in the lives of just about every person in this room. You were always supportive, even when I wanted to be Batman when I grew up. I was one of the few kids I've met that knew without a doubt that when I came out to their dad, that you would support me as if nothing had changed. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for you dad, I love you." Stiles raised his glass and called for the toast, with everyone in the room following suit. "To Sheriff Stalinski." Choking back the tears, Noah raised his glass in return. "I couldn't have asked for a better son than you Stiles." The sheriff and room raised their glass in unison to Stiles. 

Jordan embraced his emotional fiancé, placing a kiss on his head. Lydia, Allison, Jackson, and Danny all gathered around their friend and smothered him in a group hug, doing their best to try and embarrass him in front of Jordan. The party continued with introductions as guests came and went, and opportunities opened to have a more extended conversation with some guests. Chris Argent came up to the group, adults that he still found difficult to see as anything other than teenagers running around Beacon Hills trying to save everyone from the latest monster that decided it wanted to challenge this offshoot of the main Hale pack. The ones allied with hunters, a banshee, and humans that have managed to drive off challenges that they shouldn't have been able to. "I'd like to congratulate you on your engagement boys. You found a good man Jordan." With that, Chris excused himself to take advantage of an opening in the sheriff's stream of wellwishers. 

Despite his best efforts, the sheriff needed to excuse himself from the party around 8:00 p.m., after all, he was still recovering from surgery. The party did wind down with the guest of honor needing to sleep, but not everyone left. Allison and Danny wanted to get to know Jordan more, and Lydia and Jackson were catching up with the Hales, and Peter, was lurking around someplace in the backyard. Despite all the insanity he put them though, Lydia hired Peter's company to cater the party, she couldn't discount the quality of work they did. It was rare that Peter did the cooking himself anymore, but all the recipes were either his or from the Hale family. Stiles went out back looking for Peter, to make sure he was behaving himself and found him sitting in a chair, looking up at the stars. "I was wondering when you would come looking for me, Stiles." Peter motioned to the empty seat next to him, indicating he wanted Stiles to join him. "I wanted to thank you for doing the catering Peter, everything was amazing." Peter knew his food was the best, but he still enjoyed hearing other people say it. Smiling, he turned to Stiles with a serious look on his face. "Now Stiles, we've gotten along reasonably well over the years, with a few minor exceptions. So I hope I'm not being insensitive, but you may want to try for some closure with my idiot nephew and his pack of misfits while you're in town." Raising his had to stop Stiles from protesting, Peter continued. "I'm not saying you need to forgive them, but I know that both Derek would benefit from talking to you, even though he doesn't deserve it if you ask me. Just something for you to think about while you're in town." With that, Peter stood up and walked inside to rejoin the others. Stiles, however, remained outside, staring up at the starts. It wasn't until Jordan came out looking for him that he realized that he had been there for over an hour.

~~~~  
The battle of the breakfast began first thing the next morning. Noah thought he would be sneaky by trying to make his own breakfast before Stiles and Jordan came downstairs. Unfortunately, he forgot how through his son was in eliminating any foods that were not healthy for him. Even the pack of sausage hidden in the back of the freezer was gone, all of his delicious, salty, fatty breakfast meats were replaced with oats, and, berries. He was able to find some low-fat, low-sodium ham in the fridge, he had to admit it was something at least. It was while he had his head buried in the fridge looking for something a rabbit wouldn't eat that Stiles caught his dad. "At least you swapped the hospital gown for boxers Dad." Cursing his son for trying to scare and send him back to the hospital, Noah shut the door to the fridge and reminded Stiles that he shouldn't sneak up on someone who just had surgery. "Please dad, we both know it will take more than that to send you back to the hospital, which is why we did the shopping for you." This time he cursed the doctors for telling his son about his slightly enlarged heart. "Is there anything other than rabbit food in there Stiles?" Looking exasperated at his father, while opening the cupboards to get the coffee out Stiles let his dad know there should be some chicken breasts, ground turkey, egg whites in the fridge and the avocados they bought should be ready by now. "Shit, we never did get more coffee, I'll send Jordan out to get some, while I make us something to eat." As if on queue, a sleepy Jordan shuffled into the kitchen, wearing Stiles' old track pants, as he would normally sleep naked when at home. Leaning in for his morning kiss, Stiles stepped back with that goofy grin on his face, that Noah knew only had one meaning. Rolling his eyes, he instructed the boys to either get a room or get started on breakfast. "We're going to need coffee Jordan, we must have run out yesterday." That was not a greeting Jordan wanted to hear, because he knew he would be the one to go get the coffee. "Ok, I'll go if you tell me where the place is again, you get started on food." Agreeing to his terms, Stiles pulled up directions on Jordan's phone and sent him off with an order for now, and asked him to get a two pounds of beans while he was there. 

Stiles got started on breakfast before Jordan was even out the door. He set out the leftovers from the fruit tray Peter provided yesterday, which was mostly berries. Peter may be a pretentious dick, but he knew what a waste of his and his client's money was so never would you find muskmelon on a fruit tray that you bought from Peter Hale. Stiles decided that he would make oatmeal and ham quiche, the berries would go well on the side with all of that. Noah felt that the quiche needed more bacon, butter, and cheese, but Stiles was not going to give in and allow his dad the pure joy of cheese this soon after surgery. Stiles spent the majority of his time cooking, keeping his dad from trying to help.

It didn't take Jordan long to get to Klepper Coffee today, he thankfully was there during a lull in the Sunday rush. Getting to the counter, he placed an order for two pounds of the medium roast, fair trade Guatemalan coffee as well as two large coffees for himself and the sheriff and a raspberry Maddow mocha for Stiles. He would never understand how he could drink these sugar-laden drinks. The girl who took Jordan's order went in back to get the beans Jordan ordered and sent out the barista, Isaac, to make the drinks. Jordan was still wearing Stiles' old Beacon Hills High School tracksuit, so Isaac struck up a conversation with Jordan while he made the drinks. "What year did you graduate?" Confused at first, until he remembered what he was wearing, Jordan laughed. "No, this is my fiancé's, we're in town for a little bit, while his dad is recovering from surgery." Isaac offered his sympathy and went in the back to check on his partner and get more coffee for the espresso machine. Both Baristas came out of the back at the same time, Isaac handed Jordan the two large coffees while his partner, Erica, asked if Jordan wanted the beans ground or if he would like them whole. He asked for to keep the beans whole and thanked Erica. Isaac, returning to making the mocha went back to chatting with their customer. "So, who is your fiancé, we both went to Beacon Hills High, maybe its someone we know." The Sunday rush was starting to pick back up, as cars started to pull into the parking lot, the first of the undercaffeinated entered and made his way to place his order with Erica. "His name is Stiles, we met while at school in New York." Erica, Isaac, and the new guest all stopped dead and looked at each other and then back at Jordan. "You're engaged to Stilinski?" Not the usual reaction Jordan was used to, but maybe they weren't that close to him to know he was gay. With the shock gone, Isaac finished the mocha and handed Jordan the drinks and a carry tray for them. The new customer moved as if to say something to Jordan, but ended up staring him down, blocking his exit. The look in the man's eyes was a mix of anger and pleading, it wasn't until Erica came up and punched him in the arm before he returned focus beyond Jordan. "I'm sorry about that, we don't usually let him out when we have company, let me get you another pound of coffee to make up for this." Erica runs into the stock room stopping only to give a venomous look to the man, rubbing the spot Erica punched on his arm. When she returned, the strange man had sat down at a corner table with a dine-in cup and was glaring at Jordan from behind his laptop. Finding all of this to be a bit odd, Jordan accepted the extra coffee, thanked Erica and went out to the car to head back home to Stiles and the Sheriff. He didn't register with him until he was halfway home that them strange man smelled like cedar, just like the sheriff's stuffed wolf.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek finds out Stiles is going to get married.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, I'll be taking a day or two off as a friend of mine is flying into town, and will be spending free time with him. I have big plans for chapter 9 and I want to make sure that it lives up to how I have it in my head. Hope you all are having a good week, and as always, I would like to hear what you think. A comment from one of you has already given me inspiration, so please let me know your feelings and who knows what may be my next spark.

Jordan walked into the Stilinski house to Stiles and his father arguing about bacon. "Dad, no. You can not have bacon every day; you should only have it a few times a month, at most." Jordan considered walking back out the door with the coffee and letting the two men sort this out while he drank his coffee in peace. Unfortunately for him, Noah saw Jordan and decided to try and recruit him as an ally. "Oh, no, I'm staying out of this. I have to live with Stiles after we leave here. I brought coffee, but I'm not going back there, so its a good thing they gave me an extra pound for free, because of some pissed off looking guy stared me down when I was trying to leave until the girl behind the counter punched him in the arm." That got the attention of the two other men, who looked at Jordan with concern their eyes. Concern for Jordan overrode the rational part of Stiles' brain and blocked the immediate and most probable answer as to who the mystery asshole was. Instead of trying to determine who the person was, Stiles spent the rest of the morning with Jordan, making sure he was ok after the bizarre altercation. While Jordan went out for an afternoon run, Stiles left his dad with Melissa and went down to the coffee shop to try and sort out what happened that morning. 

Walking in the shop, Stiles realizes what probably went down in a matter of seconds. Behind the counter he sees Erica and Isaac, so he is pretty sure who it was that "the girl behind the counter" punched. The café was empty at the time, not that he would have felt the need to be discrete as he marched up and demanded to know "What the fuck went on here this morning?!?" Erica and Isaac stopped dead, having been distracted by their work and the smell of coffee to notice that it was Stiles that waked with rage in his eyes. Both wolves froze as if they were a deer caught in someone's headlights. "Well, is someone going to tell me anything or do I need to see if the Argent's have any wolfsbane bullets I can borrow?" That seemed to get their attention, as that was never something Stiles had said like an actual threat, but a lot had changed over the past ten years. Erica took the lead and hoped to get Stiles out before he started flipping tables. "It was Derek that caused the problems. Isaac was just chatting him up like he usually does and asked when he graduated since he was wearing your tracksuit. That's when he told us who he was, Derek happened to be coming in with the beginning of the Sunday rush, like he usually does, when they were talking. I just wanted to get him out of here so we could deal with Derek and avoid any problems." Irritated but satisfied with their answer, Stiles told the two to let Derek know that if he tried that shit again, he would personally neuter him with a rusty spoon dipped in wolfsbane extract. With that, Stiles walked out of Klepper Coffee, for the last time, leaving Erica and Isaac realizing just how badly they had fucked up all those years ago. 

~~~~

Stiles wished running was as therapeutic for him as it was for Jordan, what would help now is kicking the shit out of Derek, but as that wasn't a viable option, he called Danny, to see if he could get a guest pass into his MMA gym for a sparring session. He stopped at a local sporting goods store to pick up some gear as he didn't think he would need to pack anything for this intense of a workout. He sent Jordan and his dad a text to let them know where he was and why it was taking him so long to come back form a quick errand. Danny was pulling into the parking lot just as Stiles arrived at the gym, so he gave his friend a quick rundown as to why he needed the workout. They had never determined exactly what Danny was, from what they could gather from his family history is that he descended from several respected Kahunas, they were unsure how much power he had. Stiles, unlike Danny, had no documented family history of shaman-like persons, but Deaton had suspected that Stiles could have been trained to be a Druid and a Spark, especially after the Nogitsune possession. All of that seemed to be off the table after he was separated from Derek's pack. 

While they spared Stiles filled Danny in on the events of the day. How Derek had stared Jordan down at the coffee shop, how Erica and Isaac would hardly look him in the eyes when he went in to figure out what happened. Danny could tell how much it bothered Stiles by the intensity he attacked when he mentioned the members of his old pack, especially Derek. Danny understood, to a minimal degree, what Stiles felt, as a human, having broken up with Ethan, he severed a bond between the two of them, but he didn't obliterate it. The two men continued sparing for around two hours, taking short breaks for water every 20 minutes or so, until Stiles had exhausted himself and felt numb. The two men, having no qualms about being sweaty and gross, gave each other a hug and parted ways making plans for dinner later in the week to just enjoy a night out. 

Jordan greeted Stiles when he came back from his workout, only going as far as to give the other man a kiss, before sending Stiles to the shower. Jordan had made a turkey sandwich for Stiles while he was in the shower and was sitting down in the living room with Rogue One queued up on Netflix when he descended looking for the man he loved. "Star Wars and food, what did you do?" Stiles asked skeptically, knowing Jordan's usual signs of trying to apologize for something. "Can't I do something thoughtful for the man I love?" That set off all of Stiles' alarms, he knew that Jordan was up to something now, and the look he gave the other man told him the jig was up. "Fine. I know it wasn't my fault, but I felt bad about how upset you were about what happened at the café this morning. I wanted to spend time with you, just let you know that I love you, you've had a difficult week." Stiles wasn't able to argue with Jordan there, he had been upset by what happened, and this had been a challenging week with his father getting shot. He sat down next Jordan, snuggled up, and they watched a movie together, like they would at home, letting their lives have a semblance of normality for just a moment. 

Melissa came down from taking a nap before she had to go to work that night, to find the boys curled upon on the couch nearly at the end of their movie. "How is your father doing Stiles?" Jordan answered, as Noah had been sleeping since before Stiles got home. She picked up her food from the fridge and headed off to work, for another double shift working the ER that night. Around 5:00 p.m. Stiles went into his father's room to wake him for dinner, and see if he needed any of his pain medication. Noah, requested a double-double, animal style, fries, and a Neopolitan shake for his pain. Stiles went as far as to agree to a Grilled Cheese, fries with no salt, and water for dinner. The sheriff gave up on his attempt for a burger, and Stiles decided they could have a salad with grilled honey mustard chicken for dinner. Making the dressing himself Stiles could control what his dad was eating, and how much of it, so he felt ok with this compromise. The three men watched old episodes of _I Love Lucy_ while they ate, and they caught Noah up, on the events of the day, and how Jordan had indeed met Derek that morning. 

~~~~ 

While it may have been a relaxing evening at the Stilinski house, things were less calm at Derek's apartment. Erica had taken over the pack meeting that night and used it to call Derek out on his shit. "What the hell do you think you were doing, did you think you were going to punch out the guy Stiles is going to marry, and that he would forgive you for what you did to him? What deluded world do you live in to think that would even be an option?!?" Derek attempting to be less of a fail-wolf alpha to his pack tried to sound like she was overreacting was cut off as Erica continued ripping into him. "Do you want to know what happened when Stiles found out what happened? He came down to the café and confronted Isaac and I about it after he threatened us with wolfsbane bullets if we didn't tell him what happened. He also, wanted you to know that if you pulled a stunt like that he would cut your balls off with a rusted spoon dipped in wolfsbane." That seemed to get everyone's attention, but it wasn't the first time that Stiles had threatened any of the males in the pack that way. "I think he said 'neuter' and 'dipped in wolfsbane extract.'" Looking at Isaac, Erica thanked him for being helpful like always, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Turning her attention to Scott now, she started the inquisition as to what possessed him to go to the Sheriff's house -- unannounced, and uninvited -- when he knew Stiles was there. "Don't give me that bullshit, about wanting to be helpful like you usually do Scott, we all know that he wouldn't believe the story, and neither do we." Peter came upstairs from his basement den to see what all the yelling was about, as he usually took great pleasure in seeing his nephew get taken to task for something, unfortunately for him, Erica unleased a string of accusations against him, most of which he was innocent of, for a change. The only charge he was guilty of was inviting Stiles, Jordan, and Lydia to dinner the other night. One of the few times he was being told off for being nice. It was a new experience for him. "As much as I enjoy being a team player, all I did was invite a few old friends over for dinner. It's been a few years, but if my memory is correct, and it usually is, I'm not the one who mangled a teenager's soul to make a point. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have reservations for dinner." As though nothing happened, Peter left the house, taking whatever high ground Erica was trying to claim for herself away.

With their thunder stolen from them, the pack decided their typical night of frivolity could wait until the next meeting. One-by-one, the pack members left and went back to their respective homes, except for Scott, who stuck around to make sure Derek wasn't going to try and get drunk again. Derek let him know that he had no plans on drinking that night and that he should go home. They all had a lot to think about that night. Scott reluctantly agreed and left Derek, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to a bar and try to get drunk, no matter how much it cost him.


	9. When He Set Fire to the Rain

A week had gone by with no pack encounters or smuggled cheeseburgers. Jordan got busted smuggling an In-N-Out burger to Noah one afternoon, but they got caught by Stiles who came home from the gym early and put an end to that fun. Jordan was in trouble for that, but he knew how to get Stiles to let him out of the dog house. He needed help from Melissa, Lydia, and Danny to pull it off, but he managed. It took some doing on Melissa's part to get a Friday-Monday weekend off, but she was able to use the "my boyfriend had surgery" card and got the days off. Lydia and Danny helped by making reservations and letting Jordan know where Stiles' favorite places to visit were. He knew he wasn't in that much trouble, but Jordan felt like Stiles needed a break, especially after hearing him talking in his sleep. He had been having nightmares about his mother's stay in the hospital, and how he might lose his father too. Jordan told Stiles that they were going to be taking a long weekend and to just get in the car, he packed everything they would need and that Melissa would be home all weekend, and Danny would come over if they needed the help. Not giving Stiles a choice Jordan picked up his fireancé, with some difficulty, as Stiles was trying to squirm free of his grip, and placed him in the car.

The drive into San Francisco took around 2 hours and was a pleasant change for Stiles since he usually drove, but the surprise started when they pulled up to the Palace Hotel and escorted up to the Presidential Suite. The men were greeted by a pair of tailors and their assistants, one standing next to a new Army Blue Mess uniform the other next to a new tuxedo for Stiles. Stiles looked to Jordan, in one of the rare moments he had been rendered speechless. "We never had a chance to have our engagement party, I know it isn't a big event in your family, but it is one of the few things my family makes a big deal about. Everyone important to us, and those we have to invite will be arriving today or early tomorrow for the reception tomorrow night." Stiles threw his arms around Jordan and kissed him deeply, never had Stiles loved Jordan more than in that moment. The tears in his eyes expressing the undiluted joy he felt, the last time he felt like this had been when Jordan proposed to him near a hot dog cart in Central Park. They spent the afternoon taking a few sights around the hotel and had a quiet evening enjoying the view from their bed, shower, and both of the sitting rooms.

The next day was booked solid for Stiles and Jordan after they had breakfast in their room, the tailors came back to take final measurements to have their clothes ready for that night. While they didn't have to pick anyone up from the airport, they had lunch reservations for Jordan's parent's to meet Noah and Melissa. Both men were anxious about the meeting, not because they were worried they wouldn't get along, but the Parrish family came from some very old money, and they didn't always realize how that affected their view of the world at times. It was a rude awakening for Jordan when he was at West Point, but adaptability was one of his greatest strengths. Melissa and Noah arrived around 11:30 to get checked into their room, both of them were impressed with the room booked for them. Lunch was at 1:00 in The Garden Court restaurant located in the hotel. Jordan, Stiles, Melissa, and Noah arrived together to meet Alexander and Elizabeth Perrish. Both Alexander and Elizabeth ran different consulting firms in New York to keep them occupied, as well as the various charities they supported. Jordan and Stiles couldn't have been happier with how well their parents got along, especially Melissa and Elizabeth.

The party took place in The French Parlor at The Palace, with a fully catered menu. Stiles, Jordan, and their families were a the head table, with guests gathered around the room. After cocktails had been served and hors-d'oeuvres passed around, Alexander Parrish called for attention. "I'd like to thank all of you, especially those who came out on short notice. We are here tonight to celebrate the engagement of Jordan Parrish, and Stiles Stilinski. Usually, we would have given you all more notice before asking you to travel across the country, but tonight, we adapt for a good man, the father of my future son-in-law, Sheriff Noah Stilinski. It wasn't long ago that Jordan and Stiles flew to California because Noah was shot in the line of duty. These two men wasted no time in dropping everything to see what help they could offer the sheriff. Let us all raise a glass to Noah Stilinski." The guests all toasted to Noah, who took the next speech for Jordan and Stiles, followed by Elizabeth and Melissa. The evening continued with dinner, more cocktails, and dessert and coffee. Around 11:00 pm, Stiles, and Jordan retired up to their suite to sleep after the long day they had and the mingling with all the relatives they typically only saw in Christmas card photos.

~~~~

Monday came too soon, but not fast enough for Jordan and Stiles, they both felt like they needed a vacation to recover from their relaxing weekend away, but neither of them would have changed a thing about it because they were together. Stiles drove back to Beacon Hills since Jordan drove to San Francisco, and Stiles enjoyed watching him sleep in the car. Melissa told them she would take Noah back to her place for a few the night so they could have some time to be alone without having to make plans around other people, or worry about anyone else's schedule for a few days, they had earned a day off. When they got back to Beacon Hills, they found several cards, and some flowers had been delivered, addressed to Stiles, confused as to who could have sent them, as only a few people had his dad's address. They took the flowers inside and found a card. It was from Isaac and Erica, apologizing again for Derek being stupid.  It seemed off to Stiles as Erica usually made an effort to send a handwritten note, rather than the computer printed card, but Stiles had more pressing concerns on than why Erica didn't send a handwritten note, both he and Jordan were starving, and neither could agree on what kind of food they wanted. After listing every cuisine imaginable, and a few that were made up, the men decided they would go to Stiles' favorite local Mexican restaurant, Mario's.

The weather had started to turn during their drive back to Beacon Hills, but by the time they reached Mario's the gloomy skies had opened up and were dumping buckets of rain down. Being a Monday night, the wait was blissfully short for a table, so nobody had to stand out in the rain. Stiles looked at the menu seeing what had changed since he had been there last, but with a few minor exceptions, it looked just how he remembered. They ordered a pitcher of margaritas, and by the time those had arrived, they were ready to order. Jordan ordered the Chicken and Steak flaming fajitas and Stiles, after dissecting the menu ordered what he always did, the number seven combo: a cheese enchilada and shredded beef taco. The two men gorged themselves on chips, salsa, and guacamole while they waited for their dinners to arrive while exchanging notes from their weekend in San Francisco and the engagement party. The party had outshined the one they attended for Jordan's cousin two years ago, maybe Alexander and Elizabeth felt they needed to "go big" since they didn't know if they would be getting any grandchildren from their only son. That was fair of them to wonder, Stiles and Jordan had only gone as far as to agree that they wouldn't be opposed to children at some point, but now if they would adopt, or find a surrogate mother, it wasn't a priority for them at the moment.  They sat around and took their time with dinner due to the rain, and the second pitcher of margaritas they ordered, they decided to walk next door to the bookstore and look around to see if there was anything that caught their eye. After about an hour of wandering through the store, they decided that the rain wasn't going to let up and that Stiles was okay to drive since he had less to drink that Jordan had with dinner.

When they arrived back at the sheriff's house, they noticed two cars parked out front on the street, a silver SUV, and a black Camaro, as they got a little closer they could see two men arguing in the driveway. Stiles woke Jordan up from his usual car nap and let him know that things were probably going to be awkward when they got out of the car. Pulling into the driveway got the two men to move at least, the downside was it was they were blocking the path to the front door now. Stiles made a mental note to work on getting the garage cleaned out so they could actually park a car in there for a change. Stiles sent Lydia, Allison, and Danny a text letting them know that Scott and, what appeared to be a very drunk Derek were on his doorstep, requesting backup depending on how belligerent Derek was going to be since Stiles had never seen him drunk before, he had no idea what to expect.

Derek managed to push his way past an exasperated Scott who just looked at Stiles and Jordan with the most profound regret in his eyes that he let this happen. Reaching Stiles, Derek stopped, looking at the man he had loved, that everyone thought was his mate, and began to sob uncontrollably. "What do you want Derek?" The venom in Stiles' voice was potent enough to make even Jordan look at him in shock, not knowing that such hatred could come from him. Looking at Stiles' and Jordan's left hands, Derek saw the matching rings and fell to his knees. Choaking though his tears Derek did something even Scott hadn't seen the older man do in the 15 years he knew him. Apologize, and beg for forgiveness. "I'm so sorry Stiles, It was for your safety, I couldn't see you get hurt again, it was for you." Disgusted with the display and not interested in the apology that came only after he got engaged, Stiles attempted to push past Derek but was stopped when the drunk wolf grabbed his arm. Stiles would typically have just pulled out of his grip, but Derek's claws were extended. "Let go Derek, or I'll have to call the deputies out to take you into the drunk tank." Scott and Jordan had different reactions to this, Scott just looked up to the full moon in the sky, cursing Peter for starting the chain of events that brought them to this night. Jordan, on the other hand, was livid, his protective instinct rising from the depths of his soul, he reached over and grabbed Derek's arm, and squeezed his wrist in an effort to get the other man to let go.

Unfortunately, the moon was against them that night, and Derek's wolf saw the other man as a threat and growled at him. "Are you fucking serious, you throw him away and only find the need to come crawling back when Stiles has moved on. You assault him, and you fucking growl at me like some dog?" Looking at Scott with fire in his eyes, he tells him to get Derek out of there before he had to do it himself. That was all Derek's wolf needed to hear to take over, to try and fix what he broke all those years ago. The shift happened before either Scott or Stiles realized it, and a drunk, alpha Derek was staring down Jordan. "Impressive trick, now get the fuck out of here." Jordan either not realizing what was happening, or choosing to ignore what his eyes were telling him, responded remarkably well for facing down a werewolf. It was now that reinforcements came for both sides, Isaac and Liam, for Scott, Danny, Lydia, and Allison for Stiles. The three wolves tried to get their alpha away and back into Scott's car since he was in no condition to drive, but he was not having it. Derek just pushed all of them away and stood his ground. Stiles stepped in front of Jordan and met Derek's red eyes with his own brown eyes, filled with hatred and darkness. "You had your chance Hale, it has been ten years, and you didn't reach out once to try and say you were sorry, _none_ of you did." The power in Stiles' voice seeming to come from somewhere beyond the twisting nether to make each word strike the wolves hearts as if they were one of Allison's arrows. "Now you come out after my father was shot when I'm emotionally vulnerable and think that I'll just forgive you if you cry and say your sorry, that what you did was for my safety?!? You disgust me, Derek Hale." Everyone stood in the rain watching the encounter, seeing Stiles' words rip Derek's heart to pieces, and seeing Derek shift back to human in defeat. "You almost died Stiles; I couldn't go through that again. I did it to save your life." That was it, Stiles snapped. "To save my life? Do you know what I went through when you snuffed out your little candles? My soul was ripped to shreds, by everyone in your little pack Derek. Where was your concern when you left me broken halfway to madness on the floor? Tell me that Derek."

Scott, Isaac, and Liam, may have been there that night, but they didn't know the consequences of their actions, but they felt them then. This was also the first time that Stiles had been so detailed in talking about what he experienced that night. The hurt came flooding back to Stiles, the tears streaming down his face only served to strengthen Stiles' hatred for Derek. "I...I just didn't want to see you get hurt because of me again." The words leaving Derek's mouth sounded pathetic even to him after the verbal beating Stiles delivered. "You didn' want me to get hurt because of you? Is that why you did your whole little wolfy ritual and declared me excommunicado?" Hearing those words broke something in Jordan, but he moved Stiles out of the way and let go, he surrendered to the beast within. Just as quickly as Derek had shifted earlier, Jordan was engulfed in hellfire, as the hound within let out a battle cry and threw Derek across the lawn into his Camaro. The hellhound was driving Jordan at the moment, and it was pure instinct, his mate had been attacked, and he was going to defend. Stiles ran out to try and stop Jordan while he told everyone else to get Derek out of there before any of the neighbors saw what was going on.


	10. Bad Moon on the Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tensions between Derek and his pack with Stiles and Jordan have reached a breaking point. What will happen when Stiles sees his mate is in danger?

The hellhound was in full control of Jordan's body as he moved across the yard, leaving burning footprints in his wake. Scott was the only one trying to pull Derek out of the dent in his Camaro, the rest of the pack were trying, as usual, against Stiles' instructions. Liam was the first to try to defend his alpha, and the second to be burned and beaten by the hellhound. Isaac pushed Stiles aside as a distraction when he saw Derek start to recover from being thrown into his car. Jordan looked to Stiles while confirming he was in no immediate harm, he refocused his attention to the three wolves who were attacking him. Scott was pleading with the rest of his pack to stop attacking Jordan and to get out of there. Lydia and Danny ran to help Stiles and make sure he wasn't hurt, Allison went for her hand crossbow. With the help of his friends, Stiles was back up and on his feet and making his way to stop Derek's pack from doing anything to hurt his fiancé, even if he wasn't sure why he was walking around like a werewolf/human torch hybrid. Seeing Derek, Liam, and Isaac all attacking Jordan, and starting to get the upper hand, Stiles knew that he would need to do something to tip the scales back in Jordan's favor.

Stiles let go and allowed the rage to come up from the darkest corners of his soul, from places that hadn't seen the light of day since the nogitsune possessed his body. Stiles made his way across the yard with what looked like a purple-black mist swirling around him, until he was within arms distance from the wolves. The mist began swirling and filling with electrical charges, making it appear as though Stiles was standing in the eye of some storm. With a look of pure hatred, Stiles flung his hand forward and with an inhuman voice commanded the wolves to "leave him alone." As Stiles spoke the words the energy coursed through his body, directed by his hand and discharged in the direction of Derek and his pack, their shadows were caught by the energy wave and sent them flying backward. The wolves attempted to get back on their feet but Stiles clenched his fist and made a motion of pulling down, and the pack was dragged to their knees. With a look at Isaac and Liam, Stiles released their shadows from his grip and gestured for them to leave, but Derek was still trapped by this power no one knew Stiles possessed. "You destroyed my soul and left me to try and put the pieces back together, Derek Hale. You came to my father's home and begging me to forgive your betrayal. You attacked my mate and tried to kill him. You did this to me, Derek Hale, you summoned the void that slept within me." The realization of what happened hit Derek, and he knew that if Stiles wanted to, he would kill him, and it would not be pleasant, no matter how quick it would be, it would feel like an eternity to Derek. "You took a part of me that I will never have back, now I'm going to do the same to you, Derek." Void Stiles gripped Derek's head between his hands and stared deep into his crimson alpha eyes, peering deep into his soul. "I'm going to make you feel loss, make you know what it feels like to have the light stripped from you." Derek began to shudder and foam at the mouth, gurgling more than screaming as Void Stiles's eyes shone like two black lights. After what felt like hours, void Stiles released his hold on Derek who fell to the ground, convulsing. The pack ran up to Derek as Stiles waked back to Jordan who was still engulfed in hellfire, and little else at this point, his clothes having burned away. The two men, fire, and shadow, reunited, the hellhound pulled back, allowing Jordan to return to control and the flames to recede back within, satisfied that their mate was safe with them. Noone could do more than look at the two men as the power returned within, and they made their way inside, to find some pants for Jordan. Scott, Liam, and Issac took Derek and loaded him into Scott's SUV to take him to get help. Allison, Lydia, and Danny went to follow their friends, but Stiles shook his head and told them he felt he and Jordan, needed to talk about what happened that night.

~~~~

Isaac called Deaton while Scott drove at break-neck speeds to the animal clinic, Liam sat next to Derek, keeping him on his side, so he didn't choke if he vomited. Deaton was opening the door to the just as Scott pulled in to the parking lot, asking for any information that he could use to start planning treatment for Derek. Thankfully Derek had stopped convulsing on the way to the clinic so moving him to the exam table was not as difficult as it could have been. Scott, being the only one not to be affected by the attack, told Deaton as much as he could about the events that led them to this emergency. "It was Stiles, he said something about Derek attacking his mate and releasing the void." This concerned Deaton greatly, as he remembered what happened the last time a void entity was in control of Stiles' body. Looking to Scott with fear in his eyes, Deaton asked if he was absolutely sure that is what Stiles said. "Yes, he also had this dark mist swirling around him, he was able to attack our shadows and hold us down by them. When he did this to Derek, he looked him in the eyes and his started to glow a dark, almost black, purple." Deaton continued his examination of Derek, seeing if there were any physical injuries that required his attention. "What about these burns, on his chest, were those from Stiles as well?" Scott still the only one able to speak with confidence informed Deaton that it was Stiles' fiancé -- or mate, as Stiles had called him -- did this. He sounded like a wolf, but his eyes were orange, and his body was covered in flames." Satisfied with his physical condition, Deaton asked Scott to call Talia, and ask her to bring anything she has on void entities, and how to treat their victims. That Deaton knew what Stiles was, was a good sign, that he needed Talia to bring everything she knew about how to treat Derek, was less encouraging.

Talia, David, and Peter arrived at the clinic within the hour, Derek's condition had not changed, which for now was a good thing. Talia and David ran in to see their son, while Peter handed Alan a few books with pages marked that could be useful in getting Derek well again. Talia looked at her son's pack for answers as to what happened. Scott, let her know that he had failed in keeping Derek from drinking and while he tried to get him to leave the sheriff's house before anything could happen, Jordan and Stiles pulled into the driveway before he could Derek out of there. He told her about how Stiles surrendered to the void and how Jordan burst into flames and attacked them. Hearing this, Peter's suspicions were confirmed, "Our little Stiles found himself a hellhound for a mate." As infuriating as he could be, Peter knew more about the supernatural than anyone Talia had met, which is why refrained from punching him for being so smug. "Well, that certainly explains the burns on Derek's chest, but how do we figure out what it is Stiles did to him?" Preferring direct answers, rather than second-hand information, Peter drove his claws into the back of Scott's neck, living the memory with him. When he returned, it took Peter a moment to recover from the event, "the good news is, Stiles didn't want Derek dead. The bad news is, he wanted him to suffer. All we can do is wait for Derek to feel whatever pain it is that the void wants him to." That wasn't what any mother wanted to hear, but at least, there was still hope for her son. Talia asked Scott to follow her as she stepped into the lobby of the clinic. "I want to let you know that I don't blame you for the events that happened tonight. You did your best to keep Derek away from Stiles, but you can't win every fight. From what Peter says, there is hope for my son, we just have to be patient and hope the void that was driving Stiles didn't do too much damage and the Derek that wakes up, is still the one we know.

~~~~

Stiles and Jordan went upstairs to find something for Jordan to put on since the hellhound had burned the clothes off his body when he shifted. "Well, I guess we both have some explaining we need to do." Stiles said, handing Jordan some underwear." He sat next to his fiancé, or mate, the term both he and the hellhound had started using. So, I told you the truth about why I moved, but it wasn't the whole truth. Stiles told Jordan about how Peter bit Scott, they killed Peter, Lydia brought him back to life, and all the crazy things that they went through in high school. Stiles saved the nogitsune for last. He told Jordan how when the darach tried to sacrifice their parents, he, Allison, and Scott acted as substitute sacrifices which placed a darkness around their hearts and opened their mind to dark influences. Unfortunately, the trapped spirit of a nogitsune was released during these events, and it chose Stiles as its host. Stiles was separated from the nogitsune, and it was trapped in a powerful prison, so it was unlikely that he was possessed again, but the void energy he channeled that night was unlike anything he had felt before, but it was also familiar. "Before I was separated from Derek and his pack, we thought that I might be a candidate for Deaton to train as an emissary and druid. He said I showed signs of being a spark, that the light moved around me in a way he hadn't seen before." Jordan looked at his mate, the change of title felt right but sounded odd to his human mind. Fiancé, mate, did it really matter what he called Stiles, he loved the man with everything he was. "After everything that happened, I felt like that part of my life was gone, but when I saw the three of them fighting you, I lost it. I knew I needed to do something to protect you. How you protect me, and that's when I felt it call me. It wasn't something from outside, wanting me to let it in. It was something inside me that wanted to wake up." Stiles looked to Jordan, hoping to see understanding, and not fear in his eyes. When they made eye contact, Stiles saw hellhound-orange, and not Jordan's green, human eyes.

Jordan embraced Stiles, pulling him in closer to him. "I'm familiar with the supernatural Stiles, I was planning on telling you about my family now that we are engaged but didn't know how to bring this up without scaring you away. My grandfather was the first hellhound in three generations that we know of, and it skipped my mother, so we're not really sure how to predict who will or won't be a hellhound. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Stiles, I was just so afraid of losing you. I love you so much, Stiles." Jordan leaned over to kiss Stiles, who hesitated for a moment but leaned in to accept. "I get it, I really do Jordan, considering what my life was in high school. How many teenagers do you know watch the lunar cycles, so they know when they have to chain their best friend to a radiator?" Jordan gave Stiles a look like he needed to save that information to use later. "Stiles, when puberty hit me, the hellhound woke up and raised my core body temperature. I was the only member of the swim team that was comfortable doing the polar bear swim over winter break, I basically was a radiator." Stiles snuggled into Jordan mumbling something about not minding the extra warmth in the winter months. "I just wish I knew more about what happened to me tonight, so I know how to control it, so I don't hurt anyone. So I don't hurt you. I'll call Deaton in the morning. Hopefully, he knows something, or will be willing to share what the Hales know with us." 

 

The two men were exhausted and decided that they would head to bed early. Stiles was going to have fun explaining the scorched lawn to his dad when Melissa brought him home tomorrow. He sent a group message to Allison, Danny, and Lydia, letting them know that everything was okay and that they would all need to talk soon, and asked Allison if she would bring whatever her family had on people who used to be possessed by a nogitsune if anything. Curling up in bed, Stiles looked to Jordan and told him that he couldn't be happier with him as his mate.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After much research, we find out what Stiles did

Deaton told Scott, Liam, and Isaac they could leave, they had jobs they needed to go to in the morning, and they would call if there was any news. Talia, Peter, and Deaton went over every book, treatise, scroll, and, obscure reference to encounters with the void to try and figure out how to help Derek. Around midnight Talia sent David, and Peter home to get some sleep, she was going to stay with Derek. Due to the years of Derek's pack defending Beacon Hills after the nemiton was reawakened, Deaton expanded one of his supply closets to make an overnight room for one or two pack members to stay in. Deaton offered Talia one of the cots in the room which connected to the exam room Derek was currently unconscious in. She thanked her friend for his kindness and told him to get some sleep as well. She would call if there was any change in Derek's condition that required him before he came back to open the clinic. Talia didn't get much sleep herself, not just because her only son was unconscious, nor the camping cot she was on, there was something that didn't add up about Stiles attacking Derek, something about the words Peter repeated after pulling the memory out of Scott. Something about the disturbed look on Peter's face frightened both Deaton and Talia. Seeing the fear in Peter's eyes was rare, hearing him repeat the words "I'm going to make you feel loss, make you know what it feels like to have the light stripped from you," chilled her to the bone.

She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but it was 3:00 a.m. when Talia woke up to blood-curdling screams coming from the exam room. Derek was awake. Talia nearly fell off the cot in her scramble to get to her son and try to comfort him in any way she could while calling Alan to tell him Derek was awake. Derek was sitting bolt upright, drenched in an ice-cold sweat. When he saw his mother, he lost it, he began sobbing uncontrollably, the only words she could make out as she embraced him, were "I fucked up, I fucked up." Talia just hugged her son, and held him close, telling him that she was there for him. 

Talia filled Deaton in on what she knew he arrived, about how Derek woke up screaming and kept repeating "I fucked up." Peter and David arrived while Deaton was examining Derek, making sure that he was physically well. The burns from Jordan on his chest were starting to heal, but were taking longer than usual, which they figured was due to Derek being unconscious, and his body needing to focus its energy on recovering from that first. "Derek, if you're feeling up to it, I'd like to ask you some questions." He nodded to the doctor, indicating it was ok for him to ask. Deaton asked a series of questions ranging from "do you know where you are" to "what is the last thing you remember?" 

Derek was able to answer all the questions to indicate he had not suffered any noticeable neurological damage. The most interesting part is that Derek was unable to say Stiles' name, he could only stutter "St" repeatedly, but he could still say "Stilinski" indicating that it was an isolated stutter. Peter took his turn interrogating Derek to determine if he could get to the bottom of the mystery. It wasn't until Peter connected what Derek was saying to what Stiles had said. "Derek, what you fucked up, it wasn't about going to the sheriff's house last night, was it?" Derek shook his head, as the tears began streaming down his face again. "Are you talking about what you did years ago to Stiles, how you went about removing him from your pack?" Peter hit the nail on the head, Derek broke down, full on ugly crying. That was just one part to this puzzle, they figured out what it is that Derek "fucked up" but now they had to figure out what Stiles meant, but that wasn't likely to happen until Derek had time to recover; hopefully that wouldn't take too long.

~~~~

The next morning Allison, Lydia, and Danny all came over to talk to Jordan and Stiles about what happened the previous night. While they were curious about what Jordan was, the concern was with Stiles, was he possessed again? Answering the question he knew no one was asking, he told them, that as far as he knew, he was not under the influence of an evil spirit. It felt more like something inside of him waking up after winter hibernation. Looking over everything the Argent's had about nogitsune and void possession, it didn't cover anything about what happened to the host after. The information the Argent's had was detailed but did not provide any help on how to care for or treat people that had been possessed. Allison reached out to her father, to see if he could find anyone that could help, but the five of them knew, that sooner or later, they would probably have to call the Hales for help. Something Stiles was not looking forward to in the least after he sent Derek into a seizure and had him foaming at the mouth. 

With Stiles having to wait for Chris to get back to them with any leads he might have, they turned their attention to Jordan. "Well, the next part is easy, Jordan already knows what he is." Stiles offered helpfully to the group, "he's a hellhound." Danny, trying to lighten the mood joked with his friend, "well, you found someone who can light up your life Stiles." Just like that, Lydia had that look that she was onto something. "That could be it, Stiles, you might bet with Jordan because he is the light in your life now. You said that when Derek kicked you out of the pack that you 'had the light stripped' from you. What if Jordan _is_ your light now?" That was a theory that would have taken even Stiles a while to come to, but it was the best they had to work with, now they just needed more details about what Stiles was, or where his power was coming from. 

Melissa brought the sheriff home after lunch to find a smashed Camaro parked in front of the house, the law covered in burn marks, and "the investigative team" plus Jordan huddled around their laptops and books in the living room. "Would someone like to tell me what the hell happened here last night?" Letting his eyes rest on his son, Noah waited for an answer. "Well, Jordan and I went out to dinner last night, and then we came home, not really much to tell." His hopeful smile fading as his father gave Stiles that "you damn well know what I'm talking about" look. "I'm afraid that part of that is my fault sheriff. Stiles found out that I'm not exactly human last night." Now it was Melissa's turn to be exasperated, "are you a werewolf too Jordan, because that would explain the human shaped dent in the Camaro out front." Looking a little sheepish, Jordan filled his soon-to-be in-laws in on what happened last night, while the group filled the sheriff and Melissa in on any details Jordan may have missed or answered questions he didn't know how to. Stiles tried to call Talia, but she didn't answer, so he sent her a text asking her to call him when she had a moment, to see if there was anything they knew about what he did to Derek, or if there was anything he could do to help them figure it out. While his motives may have possessed a selfish aspect, he didn't want Derek to die.

About an hour later, Lydia received a call from Peter, hoping to find out if they knew anything that could be useful to his nephew's condition. Unfortunately, Lydia was unable to tell Peter anything that would be helpful to treating Derek, as they were still working on solving the mystery of what Stiles did. All they had was a joke turned theory that Jordan was the light in Stiles' life since it had been taken from him before. Peter went back to his sister and Deaton to relay the disappointing news to them. Derek had been awake off and on for most of the day, he was recovering more and more as the day progressed, but it was still stressful not knowing what it was that happened. It wasn't until Deaton came to tell Talia that Derek was awake again, that he herd a very frustrated Peter telling his sister that the most help Lydia has been was that they were joking that the hellhound was the light in Stiles' life now that Derek had taken it away from him. "Could you repeat that Peter, I think they may have inadvertently figured something out." Peter repeated the joke/theory to the druid, and they could practically see the lightbulb above the man's head. 

"Before Stiles was removed from the pack, I had been looking to take him as an apprentice due to his natural ability as a spark. To this day, I have never seen anyone with as much raw talent as Stiles to practice the druidic arts." Looking through his library of supernatural lore he continued telling the Hales, his current theory. "If the light had been taken from Stiles, and the spark extinguished, it is possible, that coming back to Beacon Hills in the company of a hellhound has, literally, reignited his abilities. We may be looking at Stiles the wrong way, it isn't void energy that he was channeling, but shadow. If the hellhound is his mate, this would explain why Stiles never knew of this ability until the hound shifted and was in danger." The two wolves looked at Deaton in disbelief, that the awkward teenager they knew, was not only the possible mate of a hellhound, but that his break from Derek, and switched the polarities of his abilities. "So, if Stiles is wielding shadow magic, or whatever it is you druids call it," Peter annoyed by their potions and dust as usual, "do we need to consider putting him down? Just look what he did to Derek, he took down an alpha practically by himself." Deaton shook his head, I don't think so, not yet at least. From what you saw in Scott's memory, Stiles' attack was not unprovoked, he was protecting Jordan, and if he is his mate now, Derek would be dead now, if Stiles wanted him to be." 

Unbeknownst to anyone Derek had gotten up and was standing near the door, listening to everything Deaton and his family were saying. He walked into the room, a little shakey, but holding on to the door frame. "He didn't want to kill me, he wanted me to know what I did affected him. Stiles made me live his memory from his perspective, make me feel what he did during the ceremony. To understand what it was I did to him." Talia wanted to hate Stiles for hurting her son, but she knew that, especially with a hellhound involved, that Beacon Hills had a way of maintaining the balance, she just hoped for Stiles' sake the awakening of his power didn't shift the balance too much and put him in any unnecessary danger. "If that's true Derek, you should be all ready to go home with your mother, there isn't anything more I can do for you unless the burns don't start to heal faster." On their way out to the parking lot, Talia received a text from Scott. "Sheriff left his phone at my mom's but wanted to let you know that whats left of Derek's car is still parked in front of his house." Closing her eyes, and making a silent cry for help, Talia knew that if it weren't for her son and his pack, the Beacon Hills auto repair economy would wither and die. She sent a quick note back to Scott thanking him for the information and that they would have an insurance agent come out and assess the car as soon as possible. 

~~~~

With the exception of Melissa who had to work, no one had left the sheriff's house that day. As the group was sitting down to a vegetarian lasagna Allison made, the doorbell rang, confused and apprehensive as to who it could be, Stiles went to open the door. "I hope this isn't a bad time, but I have some information you may find useful." Thankful that it was Deaton and not another drunk werewolf, Stiles invited the emissary/veterinarian in and asked if he would care to join them for dinner. Graciously accepting the offer, Deaton joined Stiles and the others as Jordan got another place setting from the kitchen. "I think I know what happened to you Stiles, and if I'm right, then you shouldn't need to worry." He explained how being separated from Derek, and his pack had extinguished his spark, and how the light had been taken from him. How that would usually lead to an increased risk of possession, but seeing as how that had already happened, Stiles had a mental defense for that now. Deaton continued his detailed explanation of how the events led up to Stiles' outburst the other night, and how it wasn't void energy, but shadow energy that Stiles was controlling. "I reached out to some contacts and found someone in Maryland that could help you learn to control your new abilities Stiles, if you like, I can put you two in contact." Smiling that Deaton had good news for a change, Stiles thanked him and let him know that he would reach out when they were back in New York and knew what their schedules looked like.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I've been having trouble writing lately and this felt like a good stopping point for this chapter. I feel that this is the beginning of the end for this fic. I hope you have enjoyed this so far.

The next morning Stiles and Jordan took a chance and went to Talia's office in downtown Beacon Hills, with Derek recovering from the other night, it was probable she would be working local for a few days. They walked into the law office and were greeted by a young receptionist. "Good morning gentlemen, how can we help you today?" Stiles walks up to the desk asking to see Talia Hale, the receptionist, doing his job goes through the standard series of questions asking if they have an appointment, perhaps someone else could help, etc. Frustrated, Stiles tells the receptionist, Chris, to just call Talia and tell her that Stiles and Jordan are there to see her. Against his better judgment, and with an obvious eye roll, he called Talia's office. "Mrs. Hale, I'm sorry to bother you, but a Stiles and Jordan are here to see you, shall I send them away? ... Ok, yes, Mrs. Hale." Looking up at the men with disgust, he asked them to follow him with no attempt to hide the sass in his voice. 

Walking into Talia's office, she asked Stiles and Jordan to take a seat while she finished reviewing the file she was working on. Once she finished, she looked up, asking what she could do for the two men. "Is Derek okay? I didn't mean to hurt him, Lydia told me what happened the next morning." Talia set her reading glasses down, and looked at Stiles, she knew this couldn't be easy for him, apologies had never been his strong suit. "Deaton says there is no lasting physical damage, and as far as we can tell, no neurological damage either. When Derek finally woke up, he told us what happened to him. He said that he was made to relive your separation from his pack, from your place, to feel the pain you did." Stiles just looked at Talia, horrified that he did that to Derek, yet a part of him, deep inside, felt satisfied with what she told him. "Deaton told us what you guys figured out about me, and how Jordan activated the latent abilities. We also wanted to ask if there was a test or something, to determine if two people are mates or not." 

That was not a question she thought Stiles would be asking today, and one she wasn't sure she wanted to answer. "For our kind, the alpha of both parties would perform a ceremony similar to an old handfast. If both individuals are werewolves, then both alphas would play a part. They would share their feelings over an ink mixed a small portion of blood from both persons. The alphas would use a sacred seal, dip it in the ink and place it on the wrist of each party. The next morning the alpha checks to see if the ink had faded, or if it is more prominent. No ink, not mates. I don't know if it would work for a hellhound and you, Stiles." That wasn't exactly what the answer Stiles wanted to hear, but Jordan was able to work with that. As far as the hellhound was concerned, Stiles was his, test or no test, and that was good enough for Jordan. "Thank you, Mrs. Hale, we've taken enough of your time today. Let us know if there is anything we can do for Derek." Following Jordan's prompting, Stiles got up, thanked Talia for her time and followed Jordan out of the office. 

Jordan reached for Stiles' hand when they got in the car and told him exactly what the hellhound told him when he asked Talia about the test. That Stiles was his mate, and if the hound decided that, that was all Jordan needed to know. On the drive back to the sheriff's house Jordan received a call from the human resources office for the zoo, wanting to talk about when he would be coming back to work, or if they needed to extend his leave of absence. He asked if he could call them again tomorrow, as his father-in-law-to-be, had a follow-up doctor appointment that afternoon and he would know more after that. The lady from HR, Linda, said that would be okay, and they would call back tomorrow. When the men got back to the sheriff's home, they found him watching ESPN highlights and commentary on MLB rule 5 draft from December. 

The three men sat and watched the updates until it was time to take Noah into see his doctor for what would hopefully be his last, post-surgery follow-up appointment. The appointment was the first after lunch that day, which should have made it a short wait to see the doctor, but that was never the case. When Doctor Lott finally arrived, he made the typical apologies all doctors give when they are late for an appointment. "Well, sheriff, the results of your blood work and x-rays all look promising, let's take a listen to your breathing, and we can talk about letting you get back to work, at least going in to do your paperwork." Doctor Lott went through the standard "breathe in, hold, breathe out" exercises to assess the sheriff's lungs, and was satisfied with the results. "Well, everything sounds good to me sheriff, I think you can go back to desk duty only next week." Not what Noah wanted to hear, but it was something, he hated desk duty.

To celebrate his dad's recovery, Stiles decided it was ok to have burgers for dinner that night, but Stiles didn't get pre-ground beef at the store. He went to a local butcher shop to get lean beef and have them grind it there for him. The best part was they offered to mix in seasonings directly into the meat when they prepared it. "Well, dad, with you getting back to work, it's about time we went back to work as well, Jordan and I talked while we were out at the butcher, and decided that we will leave next Wednesday unless feel like you should take more time before going back to work." Noah knew this day was coming, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He enjoyed having his son close by, and missed having his family together. Melissa may not be Stiles' mother, but he loved her, and Stiles had considered her a second mother when Claudia was still alive. He knew that things would never be how they were while Stiles was in high school, he would never have the large group of kids passed out on the couch and chairs when he came home from a night shift. Maybe the kids would come again. He had never asked Stiles if he wanted kids after he came out to him, so it was still possible to have the family he hoped his son could have.


	13. Chapter 12B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles, Jordan, and Derek sit down and talk like adults.

Jordan spent the next morning on the phone with Linda from HR, arranging his return to work late next week. He and Stiles decided that he should return to New York even if the sheriff needed additional time off before returning to desk duty. Stiles knew that Jordan wouldn't be happy leaving him in California when there was still unresolved issues between him and Derek and his pack, and that is to say nothing of the problem Jordan's hound was having with leaving his mate with the "dangerous" wolves. So Stiles proposed a compromise, meet Derek on neutral ground and hear what he had to say. Deaton would arrange a space that would be divided by mountain ash but still allow separate exits for both parties, so no one felt they were in immediate danger, or that they were trapped. Once everyone was satisfied with the terms of the meeting, Deaton left Scott in charge of the animal clinic for a few days while he went to make sure the cabin he owned was ready.

With Jordan and possibly Stiles returning to New York soon, the Stilinski Pack, as they had taken to calling themselves while at university, gathered for one last group dinner as it would the last chance they would have until the wedding. The wedding Lydia was reminding Stiles that he needed to start planning and that both he and Jordan needed to decide on their wedding parties, who would be there best men. Stiles was able to keep Lydia at bay by telling her that they had been talking about who they wanted and were working on making their final selection for each of their parties. 

Jackson insisted on taking everyone out to his favorite Persian restaurant in San Francisco and offered to let everyone stay the night at his house so they wouldn't have to drive back that night. Overnight bags packed and loaded into two cars, the "Stilinski Pack" made their way to Jackson's house. Once everyone was settled into a guestroom, Jackson had a spread of snacks and beverages for everyone set up as a light lunch while they enjoyed the afternoon, and talked about the wedding plans that Stiles and Jordan hadn't even started to think about yet. "So, Stiles, have you decided who you want to be your best man yet?" Jackson asked as he sat down next to him on the sofa, offering his friend another fig and prosciutto crostini. Sensing he could milk this for more snacks, Stiles took the crostini and told Jackson that he had narrowed the list down to his top 3 choices and that he had made it to the final round. "Well, who is my competition then?" Jackson could never stand to be second best,, so naturally, he had to know. "Fine, I was going to ask you at dinner tonight, but since you can't wait, Jax, I choose you." Upon hearing the news, Danny went up to his friend and told him that he owed him $20. "You guys bet on who I was going to pick?" The smile on Danny's face told him, all he needed to know. 

The dinner was fantastic, excellent service, even better food, and when they found out the reasons the group had to celebrate, things got even better. With a group of friends from across the country out for a night together, the sheriff recovered from being shot, Stiles and Jordan getting married, and Jackson being asked to be Stiles' best man. The staff gave them the royal treatment that night. After several hours of drinking, dancing, and eating, the group stumbled into their ubers and were dumped back off at Jackson's house. Stiles and Jordan made their way to their room, declining to join Jackson, and Danny in more festivities, as they had to meet with Derek in the morning.

~~~~

Derek and his pack were celebrating as well that night, with the exception of the occasional, rather than nightly, nightmare, Derek had recovered from his encounter with Stiles. The pack gathered at his home and decided they would have a potluck, and binge some show on Netflix. Derek would never admit it, but he missed nights like this, his pack were more than just pack to him, they were his friends, and he loved having them around, which is why when he built his house, he had a soundproof room for each of them included in the plans. Derek really didn't want to hear what a houseful of hormonal shapeshifters were up to late at night. While college and all the weekend trips with dates came and went through the house, eventually stable relationships came and went. 

Derek didn't tell anyone what his plans for Saturday were, he knew that Scott would want to come along and resolve his own issues with Stiles, but it was Derek that Stiles requested to see, just Derek. He was able to bring any family members he wanted but was asked to not bring any member of his pack for this meeting. Talia insisted on coming, but Derek chose to only let Peter come. Not because he didn't trust his mother, but Peter would be the best to talk to after this meeting if he needed someone, it may have been a long time ago, but they were best friends in high school, and it was Peter who Derek went to after he broke up with Stiles. The soundproof rooms, and that Scott's was not facing the driveway was going to make leaving for the meeting that much easier come morning. 

~~~~

Stiles and Jordan arrived at Deaton's cabin to find three cars parked out front, Derek's Camaro, and Peter and Deaton's SUVs. Hearing the car pull up, Deaton walked out to greet Jordan and Stiles and show them into their entrance. Walking in, Deaton set the men up with chairs and a small table with water, the same for Derek on his side of the room. "Peter and I will be in the kitchen, this room is soundproof, but if you feel you need us to come in just press the button on the table, and we'll come." With that Deaton walked out and closed the door behind him.

The three men sat awkwardly in silence for a few minutes until Stiles broke the silence. "Well, Derek, you wanted to tell me something, now is your chance. No Scott to hold you back, no schnapps to make you regret your actions. Just Jordan and me." Derek sighed, even after recent events Derek didn't know where to begin, so he followed the cliché, he started at the beginning. "Looking back now Stiles, I know what I did was wrong, I made the wrong choice, the coward's choice." Emotions started to flow unchecked, and the tears began to fall. "When I saw you in the hospital after the storm elemental almost killed you, Stiles, I knew I couldn't do that again, I couldn't lose you. Since Peter bit Scott, you were hospitalized at least three times a year, and almost died at least 20 times. You were dead for a full day once Stiles, what did you want me to do, let you die?" Stiles could see his reason, and he understood where he came from, but logic didn't stop him from wanting to rip out Derek's throat. "For starters, it was a storm _archomental_ , and it was only 16 hours Derek, not 24. You say you wanted to save my life, to protect me, so that's why you destroyed my soul, you almost killed me."

It was Jordan's turn to be upset, "What were you doing Stiles that you were dead for 16 hours?!?" Annoyed that this was becoming a two-pronged attack, Stiles figured the easiest way out of this would just, to be honest. "I told you about the sacrifice, Scott, Allison and I went through to save our parents. To find where they were we had to cross over to find them." Jordan stood and started pacing the room. "Stiles, you died, and you almost died how what, 20 times you said Derek?" Derek just nodded his head to acknowledge Jordan. "Jordan, Stiles, I admit that I made mistakes and that I see now, more than ever consequences my actions had. When you did, whatever it was you did to me Stiles, it sent me into your memories. I relived the night I banished you through your eyes. I felt everything you felt, I know what it is I did to you now." Derek wasn't trying to hold the tears back now. "I know it is too little too late Stiles, but I am sorry. Sorry for being arrogant, for not trying to talk to you about how worried I was. I'm sorry for loving you, for still being in love with you." Stiles didn't say anything, he just looked at Derek, and pressed the button on his table.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jordan have need to talk after Derek confesses he still loves Stiles.

Deaton and Peter came rushing in at the sound of the buzzer, to find Jordan and Stiles collecting their belongings and Derek crying on the floor. Seeing his nephew ugly crying on the floor the protective uncle instincts kicked in for Peter. "What the hell happened here Stiles?" Stiles still numb from Derek's confession told Peter what was said. "I think its best if we leave now, I don't think its healthy for Derek to be around us, I've moved on, and I think he still needs time to." Looking to Derek, Stiles felt something akin to sympathy, but he just wasn't ready to admit it yet, he was still holding on to years of resentment for the alpha who tossed him aside like an unwanted chew toy. "I'm sorry you had to endure what I went through Derek, no one should have to experience that. I logically understand where your motivation came from, but I'm not ready to forgive you, not yet at least. I wish you the best." Jordan wrapped his arms around Stiles, and the two men, the hellhound, and the shadow spark walked out the back door of Deaton's cabin and drove back to Beacon Hills.

Peter wished Derek had let Talia come, she was better at comforting people, he was functionally a sociopath, and did not understand all these emotions people had on a non-theoretical level. Nonetheless, Peter did his best to console his nephew and sat with him on the floor while Deaton broke the mountain ash barrier that separated the room before he made his retreat to allow the two men some privacy. "Derek, you told Stiles you still love him, is that how you really feel?" Looking at his uncle, Derek knew he had two options. Lie and say he was caught up in the emotion of lancing the wound banishing Stiles, or he could tell the truth, and admit he still loved the man. He decided on a compromise, he blamed the flood of emotions but paused before confessing that he was still in love with Stiles, had never stopped loving Stiles, no matter how hard he had tried for the past ten years.

Peter had been in love once so he could understand Derek's actions, taking any action to protect that person, even at his own expense. "Derek, normally I would say 'let's go get drunk and forget about our problems for a little while,' but my sister found the latest batch of wolf-schnapps, and she sent it off to another pack as a gift, so that isn't an option. That and she threatened to have Deaton neuter me if I gave you anymore." Derek laughed a little at that, knowing that Peter wasn't just trying to make him feel better, but he could see the look on his mother's face as she threatened Peter. "There you go, now let's get you home so you can start putting your life back together."

~~~~

Stiles could tell from Jordan's behavior that they were going to have an awkward conversation about what happened today. Stiles had zero doubts about how Jordan or the hellhound felt about him, but he couldn't speak for what doubts they might be having right now. "You know that I love you Jordan. Just you, right? I don't have any feelings for Derek and haven't for a long time." Jordan looked at Stiles and sighed. "I know, it just shook me that he said he loves you after all this time, I have to wonder what his motives are for that. He knows we're engaged." Stiles couldn't argue with Jordan, it was unfortunate timing to confess that he still loved Stiles, well his timing could have been worse, he could have shown up at the wedding. The wedding, they had so much they needed to plan, Stiles was wanted to just hand it over to Lydia and Jackson to plan, but he wasn't sure how Jordan would feel about that, let alone Elizabeth. "We should probably start talking about when we want to have the wedding so we can pick a venue. Have you thought about where you wanted to get married yet Jordan?" Jordan squeezed Stiles' hand in his "I've had a few thoughts, but we should probably make a guest list before we get our hearts set on a venue." Damn him and his logic.

The sheriff greeted the men when they got home and asked for the details on the meeting with Derek. Stiles filled his dad in while Jordan went upstairs to change so he could go for a run around the neighborhood. Stiles told his dad about what he had apparently done to Derek, how he felt everything he did, and how Derek confessed that he still loved him. "Well, that must have been a kick in the balls for Jordan." Eloquent as always the sheriff was. "He was shaken by it a little, but I think it bothered him more than he is letting on. I just told Derek I wished him the best and that I wasn't ready to forgive him yet. I'm hoping that starting to plan the wedding will help Jordan move past this drama." Pulling his son into a hug, Noah told Stiles that it would probably help, but he may need to do something romantic when they got home to New York, and he better not stick around too long after Jordan leaves.

Stiles decided to walk into the proverbial lion's den and call Lydia and ask her to help with the wedding. He told her he wasn't sure about how many guests there would be, but if he had to guess it would be around 250 people, including the "plus ones" based on the engagement party. Lydia was ecstatic, told stiles that she had been working on a few plans for over a year now. This did not surprise Stiles, he just hoped he knew what he was doing, and how he was going to break the news to Jordan that Lydia was in charge now.

Stiles also decided he wanted to make a more concrete gesture to Jordan and the hellhound, that he loved them, well he loved Jordan, the hellhound was just a bonus on cold winter nights. Stiles reached for his phone to call Marin Morrell, to ask her what she knew about hellhounds and if they had mate ceremonies similar to werewolves. The only reason he didn't call Jordan's parents was he wanted to keep this a surprise, and Elizabeth was the worst and keeping secrets, but if you wanted anything to get around the New York social circles fast, you told Elizabeth Parrish. Marin told Stiles to come to the high school on Monday, and they would get lunch and talk about the options he had.

The downside to traveling to California from the East Coast in winter was you forgot that the rest of the country had winter. Due to a severe blizzard covering everything from Chicago to Montreal and down to Washington DC, Jordan's flight had been initially delayed but was eventually canceled until it was safe to fly in the region. Stiles told Jordan that he had lunch plans with Deaton's sister and that he wanted to see if she could tell him anything more about what it meant to be a shadow spark, or whatever the hell he was now. On his way out the door to meet Marin on Monday, he also dropped the bomb on Jordan that he asked Lydia for help with the wedding. Jordan groaned at the prospect of having Lydia demanding updates to color palettes, seating charts, and appetizers. Jordan kissed Stiles as he hurried out the door, asking for a reminder as to why he loved him.

~~~~

When Stiles arrived at Beacon Hills High School, he found Marin waiting by the main entrance for him. Stiles pulled into the loading zone to allow her to climb into the passenger seat. "How does Indian sound to you?" Stiles nodded in the affirmative, and Marin gave directions. They arrived at Tandoori Kitchen and thankfully beat the main lunch rush. Maren ordered some vegetarian samosas to share and butter chicken, while Stiles ordered lamb tikka masala. "So, Stiles, I guess congratulations are in order on your engagement, and before you ask, yes, my brother told me." Stiles wasn't even surprised by the things she knew anymore. "Thank you. My fiancé is actually why I wanted to talk to you, also some about me. Did Alan tell you anything about what happened over the weekend?" Marin just shook her head. "No, he just asked if I would be using our parent's cabin this weekend and that it had to do with you getting engaged."

The other thing that was not surprising to Stiles was how secretive the siblings were with each other. "Well, the short version is Derek got drunk, came to grovel, Jordan is a hellhound, and I'm some sort of...shadow spark?" Morrell paused while the waiter delivered their samosas. "Well, Stiles, that certainly sounds like your weekend was more eventful than mine, but how can I help you?" Direct to the point, that was something new for Morrell. "Well, two questions, the first, what do you know about shadow sparks and the second, do you know anything about mating rituals that involve hellhounds and someone like me?"

Bingo! That was what he was after, and since Stiles didn't go to Deaton, Morrell figured that Deaton was taking Derek's side on this. "I've only read about shadow sparks, they're extremely rare. They typically turn out to be darachs, due to their separation from the light. However, it is possible that if a shadow spark was grounded, if it had a source of light, it's possible that they could function as a regular spark would." Stiles took that news as hopeful, and Deaton's contact could help him focus that energy.

"Bonding with a hellhound is more complicated than it is with other supernaturals. They tend to burn the compounds that are traditionally used in the ceremonies. I might know someone that can help you if you're sure you want to be bonded to Jordan as his mate, and not just by a feeling. It's like signing an unbreakable, magical contract. If you accept, that's it, you are bonded for life." Stiles understood the consequences that were involved, but it wasn't just his life that would be affected, this is something he would need to talk to Jordan about.

The waiter brought out their entreés, and the conversation turned from the supernatural to more mundane topics. Life in New York, how Stiles enjoyed teaching at Columbia, and his slightly unusual choice in a dissertation topic. It was the best conversation the two had had ever, and no one was being chased by kanimas, werejaguars, anything. It was two people, enjoying good food and catching up like normal people do.

~~~~

When Stiles got back to his dad's house, he found Jordan in the living room watching tv. "I'm sorry I wasn't expecting to be gone that long." Stiles walked over to Jordan giving him an apologetic kiss and hug from behind the couch. "I did get some good news while I was out though about me and us, and I may have ordered you take out while we were there." Jordan was immediately interested in the takeout container Stiles was holding, and any news his fiancé had was a secondary concern at the moment. He was hungry, and a little tired of the health food that filled the sheriff's fridge.

Stiles went to the kitchen to get Jordan a plate and utensils to eat the rogan josh he ordered. "So, Deaton's sister seemed to know more about me being a shadow spark than Deaton did. She said that most turn evil from being separated from the light for so long, but if a shadow spark was grounded and had a light, they could operate like a regular spark would." That was good news indeed. Jordan hadn't even considered that Stiles could turn out to be an evil spark, wreaking havoc wherever he went, but after what happened to Derek, he saw that it was possible, so the news that with help, he wouldn't be consumed by the darkness. "You said you had news about us as well?" Jordan managed to get a few comments in, between bites of the spicy rogan josh. "I did, I asked if she knew how a mate bonding ceremony worked between a hellhound and a shadow spark." Jordan was a little taken back by this. He knew Stiles loved him, but he had never allowed himself to think that his human fiancé would be willing to bond with him like that. "I'm sure you already know this, but bonding as mates, is for life Stiles, there is no walking away from that, are you sure that's something you want to do?" Looking Jordan in the eyes, Stiles told him that he would fight his way through the nine rings of Dante's hell if it meant he could give his hellhound a good tummy rub. "I hate you, you know that right?" Stiles just smiled and kissed his grumpy puppy.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jordan get ready to head back to New York.

With the blizzard not letting up, flights were once again canceled, so Jordan road along when Stiles took his dad to work. Jordan had wanted to be a cop when he was a child, but the fantasy quickly faded when he found out that he didn't get to take the horse home with him at night. Law enforcement had still been an interest of his and was reflected in his choice of recreational reading. Noah decided to give Jordan the "grand tour" of the station and even offered to show him how the cells worked if Stiles wanted to volunteer. Stiles was the only one who didn't find that amusing, but he got back at his father by asking if he could show Jordan how the handcuffs worked. Several of the deputies did their best to stifle their laughter as the sheriff just shook his head and locked himself in his office. Stiles took his fiancé and left the amused deputies alone to torment his father for the rest of the day.

On their way back home, Stiles received a call from Marin who had an update for him about how to perform the mate bond test with a hellhound. She let him know that her information was based on the human participant being a "normal" spark, so she wasn't sure if it would work the same, but she wasn't able to find anything that applied directly to Stiles in this situation. The downside is they needed a powerful alpha to officiate, and as far as it was known, hellhounds did not follow pack dynamics, and there were no alphas. Stiles was hoping it could be done with an emissary, which meant, he would need to reach out to one of the three alpha werewolves in Beacon Hills, or wait until they got back to New York. The only problem with that was Jordan wasn't affiliated with any pack, New York or otherwise. That left three options, and Stiles was pretty sure that one of the three alphas wouldn't be very willing to officiate.

When the men got home, they found Melissa unloading some groceries intended to minimize Noah's efforts to eat out, rather than cook at home. "So, Melissa, you wouldn't be willing to let Derek turn you and then kill him so you could become an alpha would you?" Melissa just looked at Stiles and sighed. "What did he do now?" Jordan, being the helpful one, started putting groceries away and leaving Melissa to deal with Stiles. "Other than telling us he's still in love with me? Nothing that I can think of." 

Recognizing this behavior in Stiles, Melissa turned to Jordan for a less...Stiles answer to her bewilderment. "Yes, Derek told Stiles he still loves him, and we found out that there might be a way for the two of us to participate in a mate bonding ceremony. The catch is, according to my parents, there isn't a known hellhound in North America that can perform the ceremony. Stiles met with someone from the high school who said that it _might_ be possible with the help of a powerful alpha werewolf." That's when things started to make sense to Melissa. "I'm not going to let Derek bite me Stiles, nor will it let Scott or Talia, and I'm not going to kill Derek. Peter, maybe, but he's not an alpha anymore." 

~~~~

It was a full week before the delays caused by the blizzard allowed Stiles and Jordan to return to New York. It was bittersweet for Stiles, he was thrilled to be leaving Beacon Hills again but sad about leaving his dad. He hadn't realized how much he missed spending time with his dad and Melissa, having a family, that was more than just him and Jordan. With everything that happened the past few weeks, Stiles hadn't had a chance to talk to Jordan about wanting a bigger family. Stiles didn't want to have the conversation on the flight back home in case Jordan didn't feel the same way. The last thing he wanted was to have an awkward conversation on an airplane and inflict their argument on to the innocent passengers stuck next to them. Stiles decided to go all in at their last dinner in Beacon Hills. "So, dad, have you maybe ever thought about moving to New York to be closer to your favorite son? Jordan and I have plenty of room for you to stay with us until you could find a place of your own." Stiles had a knack for dropping bombs on his father. Werewolves, darachs, Peter Hale coming back from the dead. Moving to New York. There was never a dull moment with Stiles, Noah could attest to that. 

Noah looked at Melissa, and Stiles, torn between his only living family and the woman he allowed himself to love. "We've talked about this Stiles, that when I'm going to move out when I retire." Sadness settled over Stiles' face, he had hoped his dad would have changed his mind after being shot in the chest. "Sure, it's earlier than you planned, but I miss having you around dad, I miss having my family close by. It's great having Joran's family around, but I want you to be there too dad. I want you there as we come to our milestones. We're engaged today, but someday we might decide to have kids, and I'd like them to know both sets of grandparents." Right in the heart, everyone at the table, not just Noah's. Jordan took Stiles' hand in his and squeezed it. This was news to Jordan that Stiles definitely wanted kids, he had hoped, but Stiles had never given him a clear sign, it was always "if it happens" kind of answer. "Stiles, you know I want that too, I want to be there for my son. I may not be a young man anymore, but I'm not exactly an old man either. What about Melissa, we're happy together here. I know you may not be a fan of Scott, but her son is still out here." Well, that was an argument that he was hoping to avoid, for now, Stiles loved Melissa, she had been a mother to Stiles without making him feel like she was trying to replace his mother.

"I'd never ask you to abandon Scott, Melissa, but I also want you to know that you are welcome to move to New York and stay with us while you and dad find an apartment. It shouldn't be difficult for you to find work in any of the local hospitals." The offer was tempting, but it was also heartbreaking. The choice between the man she loved and the son she comforted in the hospital, while he lost his mother, little by little until she was was gone. The other option was to stay with her actual son, Scott. Scott had the pack and the Hales, but she didn't want to miss him getting engaged, or other major life events. Moving to New York wasn't the same as going to San Francisco or Los Angeles if anything happened, the fastest they could get to each other was a six-hour flight. "Stiles, this is a lot to think about, asking us to move across the country, It's not that we don't love you, its just like your father said, we're not young anymore, it's not as easy for us." Being the only one that could easily separate himself from the emotion, Jordan spoke up. "We would love you have you out more, both of you, I understand that it won't be easy abandoning your lives out here, but I'm sure my family could help with connections for interviews, or anything you need. You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you need, we have plenty of room in our apartment. Come out for an extended visit, make sure it's something you want to give more thought to. No need to make your decision now." 

~~~~

It was a sleepless night for Jordan, he kept replaying the conversation from dinner over in his mind. Nothing Stiles said upset him, quite the opposite, he was thrilled. He knew for sure now that Stiles wanted kids, with him. He was going to get to be a father. Stiles had brought so many things to his life that he never thought he would get to have. He found someone who loved him and wasn't afraid when they found out he was a hellhound, he wasn't intimidated by his family and their money, nor did he see this as an opportunity to be a leech. Now Stiles said he wanted to have kids with him, well, not _with_ him, but be parents together.

Jordan wasn't going to try and force Noah or Melissa to move to New York, but he would do everything in his power to make relocating as attractive to them as possible. In this moment, he wanted Stiles to have everything his heart desired for their family. Jordan was determined to find a way to make the mate bond ceremony work because it was what Stiles wanted. He knew what he was going to have to do, but just hoped it wouldn't backfire on him. Once they got back to New York, he was going to reach out to the Manhattan wolf pack, and see if there was anything he could learn from oldest, uninterrupted hereditary line of alphas in the United States.


	16. Chapter 16

As winter faded into spring Stiles and Jordan were starting to get serious about looking for a venue for their wedding, which was scheduled for November 1st. Stiles was trying to convince Jordan that he wanted a Batman wedding since Lydia shot that idea down, he was hoping for back up. Unfortunately for Stiles, Jordan was on Lydia's side this time. The closest he was able to get to his Batman wedding was to have Lydia try and book Gotham Hall for the reception.

Jordan was getting busy at work with the mating season approaching for most of the inhabitants of the zoo. He had also been spending a lot of his free time trying to see if a werewolf could perform a mate bond ceremony for a hellhound and a spark if they weren't part of the alpha's pack. All the information he was finding was positive, but the problem was finding an alpha that was strong enough to perform the ceremony for a hellhound. The rules of the supernatural weren't equal to all beings. It seemed for some supernatural creatures, emissaries could officiate, others required alphas, but since hellhounds were the guardians of the supernatural, they needed the strongest of alphas to officiate. There were maybe thirty to forty alphas with enough power in the world. Everyone he contacted, emissary or alpha, of any kind, kept giving him the same name. Hale. Only the Hale alpha had that kind of power in the United States. There were a few in Canada, the Caribbean, and Central/South America, but they weren't likely to agree when they found out it was a shadow spark the hellhound wanted to bond with. 

Stiles was spending more and more time in his office at Columbia this semester, even though he was technically on a research leave of absence until the summer semester started. He used the excuse that he didn't want to have to move all his books from his office to home, and back again, and he enjoyed having students drop by to talk to him about their final exams from the fall term. He was in his element as an academic, digging up centuries-old stories about the supernatural and cross-referencing them with his copy of the Argent's bestiary. He also was using the bestiary to read up on anything he could about mate bonds, sadly the book was lacking in that department. 

Stiles was in the middle of packing up when a student knocked on his office door. "Hello, professor Stilinski, do you have a moment?" Stiles smiled and motioned for the young woman to come in. "How can I help you?" The student took a seat at Stiles' desk and waited for him to do the same. "I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about your Mythology class that you taught in the fall, and when you think you'll offer it again." Stiles was always thrilled when someone took an interest in one of his courses, but today he didn't have time answer the girls questions. "On any other day I would gladly answer any questions you have about my course offerings, but I have an appointment with my wedding planner tonight that I cannot be late for. If you send me an e-mail with your availability, I'll write back to schedule a time we can meet and discuss anything you want, how does that sound?" The student was visibly disappointed that Stiles was blowing her off. Stiles wrote down his .edu email for the girl and thanked her for coming by today. 

Stiles ran into Lydia's office fifteen minutes late, apologizing, telling them how a student walked into his office as he was packing up. Jordan handed Lydia $20 shaking his head. "Stiles, I knew you would be late, so I told you the appointment was fifteen minutes earlier than it actually was set for." Stiles looked the two and just dropped his bag on the ground and slumped into the open chair. "You both suck, you know that right?" Jordan took his fiancé's hand, while Lydia sat down at her desk and let the men know that she was able to book the Grand Ballroom at Gotham Hall for the reception, and that under no circumstance would she be throwing them a Batman wedding. The rest of the meeting was spent discussing final decisions about cake. What kind did they want, did they want frosting or fondant, did they want a faux cake to serve as a centerpiece at the table cake slices would be served, etc.

~~~~

Time seemed to be against Stiles and Jordan, the weeks turned to months, and before they knew it, the wedding was a week away. Lydia had made sure that everything handled as her friends got busy with work over the summer and early autumn. The sheriff and Melissa had been coming out at least once a month looking for an apartment they liked and could afford, that wasn't too far from the boys. Stiles even asked them to bring Scott once to see how well his sessions with Deaton's contact in Baltimore were working. Dr. Wongstein was a retired emissary for the Maryland pack but made her living as a psychologist. Knowing about the details of what happened to Stiles in his youth, made it easier for her to work through his issues with his former friends. Stiles wanted to make things between him and Scott as close to good as possible so that Melissa wouldn't feel like she would have to choose between Scott or Stiles when she and his father did move. Things were rocky with Scott on the first visit, but not as bad as anyone had feared. They had a lot to work out still, Scott was invited to the wedding, but not to Stiles' stag night. They decided alcohol and unresolved issues would not be a good mix for a fun evening.

Noah and Melissa arrived a few days early for the wedding excited to help Stiles and Jordan finalize the last minor details for the ceremony and reception. On their way up in the elevator to their penthouse apartment, Jordan stopped the lift one floor early and stepped out. "Um, Jordan, babe, you know we live on the next floor, right?" Jordan didn't move, he just stood in the hallway, with the biggest grin on his face. "I know we don't live on this floor, but your dad and Melissa do." That got everyone's attention. Jordan just reached into his pocket and pulled out two sets of keys and held them out. Rather than letting the elevator get mad at them for holding the doors open too long, the group got out and followed Jordan into one of the two huge apartments located on the floor. Walking in Noah and Melissa looked at Stiles waiting for him to yell "SURPRISE!" but as they walked in Stiles was just as shocked as they were. Melissa was the first to break the silence as they stood in the living room that felt to be twice the size of the one in her house in Beacon Hills. "Jordan, it's fantastic, but I don't think Noah and I can afford this place." Jordan walked over and hugged his soon-to-be mother-in-law. "Don't worry about the price, its taken care of. My family owns the building, I talked to my parents and their business manager, and we decided that this would be my parent's wedding gift. I know how much Stiles has wanted you guys to move out here, so we just made it, so you didn't have to worry about finding a home you liked in the city. 

Noah took his son-in-law into a big bear hug and thanked him for everything he has done, and for not letting his pain in the ass kid, scare him away. "Hey, I'm right here you know dad, it's not too late to put you in a home you know?" Noah just pulled his smartass son into a hug. "You could try, but Eichen couldn't hold me if they tried kid." Stiles shuddered at the mention of that hell-hole. Eichen House had been the center of so much pain during his high school years. Wanting to defuse the tension Stiles suggested they go on a grand tour of the apartment, led by Jordan. As they finished the tour, Jordan let Noah and Melissa know they have a designer scheduled to come out Monday to let them pick out furniture and help with decorating their new home. They could do whatever they wanted to decorate as long as they didn't tear any walls out. "Now let's get you two upstairs and settled in, Jackson has decided that Stiles and I need to go out bar hopping with him tonight.

~~~~ 

Stiles was starting to regret choosing November 1st for the wedding date, he didn't consider that his stag night would be on Halloween, especially with Jackson planning this night. Jackson decided that Stiles and Jordan needed to live this Halloween to the most. He chose costumes that fit their personalities, but that would also draw the most attention to them. For Jordan, Jackson picked a reptile look. Skintight green singlet with scales painted on his exposed skin and snake contacts. Stiles was dressed as a werewolf, his shirt and pants shredded, with just enough skin exposed to get anyone's attention. The one accessory they both had was a sash that read "groom-to-be" on them. The plan was to have fun, but not too much, they still had a wedding to get to in the morning.

Jackson arrived to collect Stiles for his night of debauchery at 9:00 p.m., he had to make sure that he was happy with how Stiles got dressed for the night out. Jackson decided he was going to be the werewolf's victim and marked himself up with bite and claw marks. Jackson didn't spend as much time in New York as he did in his early 20's but he still had contacts at bars and clubs to make this one hell of a night for his friends. All Stiles knew was that if this was anything like Halloween in London with Jackson, it was going to be a miracle if he was upright at the ceremony, let alone able to coherently say his vows.


	17. I Now Pronounce you Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its time for a wedding y'all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for joining me on this journey of writing my very first, anything that wasn't a term paper for school. I have appreciated every comment you have made and am always willing to listen to constructive feedback. With this fic now complete, I have been thinking about starting a new story but have not decided what I will do, but suggestions are always welcome. Anywho, Thank you all for sticking with me as I worked my way through this.

Lydia arrived at 9:00 a.m. to start getting Stiles and Jordan ready for their wedding. Thankfully Melissa and Noah came early so they could open the door for her when she got to the penthouse. Melisa was more help than Noah in the morning, he didn't adapt to the change in time zones as quickly as Melissa did, but then being a nurse, she was used to all sorts of odd hours. Melissa led Lydia into the kitchen where she the coffee was just finished brewing and poured her a cup. The two women made their way to the living room where they found Jackson, shirtless, halfway out of his pants. The left half to be specific. Lydia was thankful that he chose to wear underwear last night, as she didn't think he wanted to wake up and find that he mooned his friend's mother after taking her son out for his stag night. The two women shared a look that served as a conversation as to what they were going to do. Melissa just shook her head and went to get Jackson coffee, a bottle of water, and two Advil. Lydia decided she was going to wake him up by blowing a dog whistle she kept in her purse. Jackson might as well have been every scared cartoon cat as he would have been stuck to the ceiling with his claws if he could. She had hoped that Jordan had soundproofed their room but from the crashing sound from down the hall, shes guessing he hadn't. "You better bring two more morning-after kits, Melissa sounds like the boys are about to come crawling out."

Jackson managed to fall the rest of the way out of his pants by the time he managed to climb to his feet. Jordan was the first to come stumbling out rubbing his head. "Was that harpy shriek absolutely necessary?" Stopping at the end of the hall to glare at Lydia and admire the view of Jackson's ass. "I can see why Stiles dated you all those years ago now Jax." He responded with a rude sound and by flipping Jordan off. Just then Melissa came out of the kitchen set the coffee and a bottle of Advil down shaking her head at the two mostly naked men in the living room. "I thought you two couldn't get drunk, at least that's what Scott keeps telling me." That's when the surprise guest came down the hall, annoyingly collected after a night out bar hopping. An unexpected knock on the door interrupts the conversation, Lydia, being the only person wearing "outside" clothes, goes to see who is visiting. The answer to how the boys got drunk was behind the door -- Peter Hale. He must have spiked their drinks with his schnapps or more likely, Jackson stocked the cars he rented for the stag night. Peter, being Peter, probably came to see what havoc he had wreaked as he wasn't expected for a few hours still. 

Stiles invited him but didn't really expect him to come to the wedding, although he should have. This is precisely the sort of event Peter would cancel plans to attend. "I see you boys had a good night, I do hope that paint won't ruin your sheets Jordan." Lydia had vanished into the kitchen with Melissa to fix a small tray of muffins and transfer the coffee to a carafe for serving in the living room. Jackson had disappeared into the guest bathroom to shower and change into some loungewear until it was time to get ready for the wedding. Jordan went to make sure Stiles actually got out of bed and see if he needed help with any of the prosthetics that he might still be wearing from his costume. Arriving with the coffee tray, Lydia assumed the role of hostess as everyone else had vanished to make themselves more presentable to since Peter arrived. "What brings you here so early Peter?" Peter accepted the coffee and pastry that Lydia offered. "I felt that I should see how I could make myself useful since it is my fault that Jackson and Jordan are hungover today. Stiles managed to get wasted by letting every man that offered buy him a shot last night. It's remarkable he's alive." Peter being helpful usually came with a cost, but today, his amusement in seeing Jackson, Stiles, and Jordan wish they were dead after stag night would be his reward. 

The morning was a chaotic blur in the Parish-Stilinski home, Lydia decided to make use of Peter and sent him, Jackson and Stiles down to Noah and Melisa's apartment while she and Jordan's younger brother/best man worked on getting him ready for the big day. Lydia could trust Jackson and Peter to make sure Stiles was presentable to her standards, but she had only met David, at a few wedding planning meetings. One would think that having two grooms would save time getting ready, but the time that would be spent on final touches to the bride's hair or doing her makeup was spent on the grooms panicking and worrying that they would forget their vows. Years of friendship and being around Stiles didn't make him any less annoying when he went spiraling out of control, and Jackson was wondering if it would be him or Peter that tried to kill him first. 

With three hours to go, the rest of the groomsmen started to arrive, the doorman was given instructions on where to send the different parties to minimize the chaos and confusion. Noah was put in charge of organizing Stiles party while Alexander took the lead for his son. The apartments were filled with life with the wedding parties talking, getting dressed and having final touches applied to their coordinated suits. Stiles was wearing the tux Jordan got him for their engagement party, while Jordan was in his finest military dress uniform. Lydia had a tie made for Stiles that would match the blue of Jordan's suit perfectly. Stiles party were all dressed in black with blue accents, while Jordan's party the opposite. Blue with black accents. Remarkably three hours was hardly enough time to get the men dressed before they knew it, Lydia received the call that the cars were downstairs waiting to take everyone to Central Park for the ceremony. She cleared Jordan and his group out and down the elevator before going to see to Stiles and his band of misfits.

The guests were all seated by 3:15 and Lydia gave the signal to begin. The best men and groomsmen lead the procession two by two, taking their places at the altar followed by Noah and Alexander who took their seats when they reached the first row. It was time for the grooms, and their mothers. Stiles and Jordan decided who would go first by flipping a coin that morning, and Stiles and Melissa began their march down the aisle, once they reached their places, Jordan and Elizabeth made their way to the altar. The officiant was a friend of the Parrish family and a semi-retired judge from upstate New York. The judge shared stories of love and the journey these two men were undertaking, and the new chapter in their lives they would be writing together. By the time they two men exchanged rings, said their "I dos" and kissed, there was hardly a dry eye in the audience. Stiles and Jordan were officially married. The grooms, and their immediate family and best men all followed them down the aisle to the cars that were waiting to take them to the reception at Gotham Hall.

~~~~

Jordan's car was the first to arrive at the Hall, and he stood on the curb waiting for his husband, as he had one more surprise for him. When Stiles, Jackson, Melissa, and Noah arrived, Jordan led them into the hall and into the Mezzanine Greenroom where everyone was surprised. They found Talia Hale and her pack gathered in the room. Talia was dressed in a formal gown inspired by the goddess Demeter, David and all three of her children were dressed in formal attire color themed to Talia's gown. Stiles looked confused at his husband, unsure why they were meeting the Hales, especially Derek, in a side room before the reception started. "I'm sorry to spring this on you Stiles, but I know how much being bonded as mates means to you, so I've spent the better part of the year learning what I could about how it would work for the two of us. The name that everyone kept giving me for an alpha who could perform the ceremony was 'Hale.'" Stiles was in shock, he wasn't sure that he would have the bond with Jordan that he wanted to have, and he didn't think that the way to get it had been in front of him for years. "First, I'd like to congratulate you boys on your wedding, and wish you years of happiness, and thank you for inviting us." Jordan and Stiles made their way around the Hales, thanking them for coming and accepting their congratulations. "Now Stiles, Jordan, the mating ceremony as you know, is non-reversible so if you have any reservations now is the time to have them." Stiles and Jordan acknowledged Talia and asked for a moment with their families to discuss the mater. 

Elizabeth explained what a mate bond meant to hellhounds as her parents taught it to her when they discovered that she was not a hound, but it was still information she needed to know to pass down to the next generation. With the information provided Stiles and Jordan had to make their choice. "What do you say Jordan, you still want to do this?" Jordan paused before making his final answer, "I've wanted this since the first day I met you, Stiles, the final answer is yours, I'll follow what you want here." That is all Stiles needed to hear, he gave Talia the go-ahead to make her final preparations. 

Talia asked Jordan and Stiles to stand to face each other in front of her. "Place your right hands in my hand closest to you." Talia began with the hellhound, "Do you, Jordan Parrish, agree to take this shadow spark as your mate, to enter a bond that is for life?" Jordan accepted. Turning to Sto face Stiles, "Do you Mieczyslaw, 'Stiles,' Stilinski, agree to take this hellhound as your mate, to enter a bond that is for life?" The emotional rush that came with getting married came back to Stiles, he could feel himself start to tear up. "I do." Stiles could see Jordan smiling, and he noticed the tears in Jordan's eyes, eyes that were blazing orange now, his hellhound eyes. "Before we continue, I would like to warn everyone that this may get a little warm as Stiles and Jordan merge their souls. Let's just hope we don't set off the fire alarm." Talia always knew how to bring a little levity to a serious moment, and he felt the joke was meant mostly for Derek. Once the witnesses took a few steps back, Talia began the ceremony, chanting in what Stiles could only guess was ancient Greek.

As Talia spoke the words and her red, alpha-eyes glowed, Stiles could feel the heat radiate from Jordan, but he also noticed mixed into the flames around him, were swirls of midnight purple/blue mist, cocooning the hellhound and the flames in shadow. That's when Stiles noticed that the same thing was happening to him, only in reverse, his power was being contained by the hellfire. A strange wind swept up around Talia as she slowly began to shift. The wind moved around Stiles and Jordan, combining the supernatural barriers that had formed around them making one dark flame that covered them both. It took Stiles a moment to realize that Talia was speaking in English to them again. "Jordan, Mieczyslaw, you may join together as one by sharing your breath, in doing so, you will combine your lives, your souls, your love into one being, shared between two bodies." As Stiles and Jordan kissed, it felt as though the universe was changing its direction. It was as though the air, light, and gravity were pulled into the two men, almost as if they were the singularity and their friends and family gathered around served as the event horizon, permanently gathered around the point in their lives that drew them together.

What was a few moments to those gathered around, was a lifetime for Stiles and Jordan. As the mate bond coursed through them, their lives were shared, from their earliest memories to the moment their lips touched cementing their lives together. The magic of the cosmos faded and the laws of physics returned to normal, and the two men broke their kiss. Both looking a bit dizzy and overwhelmed Talia and David helped the men into nearby chairs to allow them a moment to recover. Talia signaled to Noah, Melissa, Alexander, and Elizabeth that their children would be fine, they just needed a moment. Moving towards the door, Talia motioned for everyone to follow her. "Let's give the boys a few moments to adjust to the bond while the guests arrive to the reception. Congratulations again." 

Stiles was getting used to the gentle heat that he could feel coming from his skin now that he was officially Jordan's mate. It was a new experience for him, much different from the cold he had felt for the past ten years. Stiles could also understand and feel the emotions of Jordan's hellhound if he concentrated, the connection was too fresh for Stiles to be able to understand thoughts, but Jordan explained that with time and practice he would be able to. The ice that had been in Stiles' soul since the night Derek and his pack made their mistake began to thaw, and Stiles felt the difference almost immediately. It wasn't enough to purge the shadow, but he didn't want to, it was part of who he was now, and with Jordan serving as his guiding light, no matter how deep into the shadows Stiles ventured, he would always be able to find his way home to the light.


End file.
